Head to Head
by is butter a carb
Summary: [Dramione] [DMHG] After the defeat of Voldemort, Hermione Granger returns to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as Head girl, but never in her wildest dreams did she expect her childhood arch-nemesis Draco Malfoy to be Head boy! Follow Hermione and Draco's journey through their last year at Hogwarts as they learn to understand the trials and tribulations of their past.
1. Head Girl

**A/N: Hi! Welcome to** **Head to Head** **. My first Harry Potter fanfiction, it's mainly Dramione related, but there's a few other ships thrown in there. I really hope you enjoy x**

 **(Update: I'm adding this note around the time of the release of chapter eight, but if any obvious questions anyone may have (e.g. Isn't Draco Malfoy evil? Doesn't Hermione hate Draco? Why is Draco Head boy?) are addressed later throughout the story. This story isn't solely focused on Draco x Hermione romance, but it also addresses change in character and old mistakes. In the later chapters, both Draco and Hermione's personalities endure change, and this story is not only a romance, but a telling of change and forgiveness. I wouldn't write a story if I knew there were some obvious mistakes! However, if you're hell-bent on ideals that go against this story (e.g. Draco Malfoy is evil!11!1), than I wouldn't recommend this story for you. Happy Reading!)**

 **[Another note: My writing skills and plot development are improving as I write, so if this chapter wasn't for you, try reading a few more chapters, and if you're still not enjoying it, leave me a review!]**

 **{Another freakin' update: I was searching up my story and realised there was another HP fanfiction. With the exact same name. Also about Draco and Hermione. As Head Boy and Girl. Well...This is awkward. I promise it was not my intention to plagarize the name of another fanfiction. I sincerely apologise to malfoymaiden, the author of the amazing story. I was just so excited with finally coming up with a name for my fic that I didn't think to check if it had been used before! Also, in terms of concept, I acknowledge that Hermione-Draco as the Head Boy-Girl isn't truly authentic. I apologise once again! 3)**

"Head girl!" said Harry and Ron in unison as they noticed a red badge slide out of their best friend, Hermione Granger's Hogwarts letter. It was summer, and Hermione Granger was at the Burrow along with her two best friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Together, the three were known as the Golden Trio, not that Hermione supported that name, of course, it's just that they had all gotten used to it by now.

"Blimey! Nice one 'Mione," said Ron happily as he admired the shiny badge emblazoned with 'Head girl' in gold, "Not that I'm surprised, of course." He added hastily as he received a glare from his brunette friend.

"Does it say who the Head boy is?" Harry asked, peering over Hermione's shoulder to skim over the contents of the letter. Hermione shook her head.

"What if it's Malfoy?" Ron guffawed, but then went pale, "What if it is Malfoy...?" He repeated slowly. Hermione snorted, but a lingering unease remained, what if it was Malfoy. Her spirit was already dampened since her two friends were not returning to Hogwarts, but to also deal with a bouncing blonde ferret? Unbelievable. _  
_  
"He was a murderous death eater!" she cried, leaving her two best friends shocked by her outburst. She clamped her hand over her mouth, after the war ended, everyone had silently agreed to never mention the past. After all, the past is in the past. She clutched her inner-arm, where the faint scar of word Mudblood remained after her run-in with Bellatrix Lestrange at Malfoy Manor. Of course, Malfoy was there, but he did nothing but watch, a sneer plastered across his pale face. After the downfall of Voldemort, the Malfoys were cleared of all charges, but even defeating the world's most powerful dark wizard side-by-side wouldn't make her forget what happened, especially since the scar would forever remain. _A bit like Harry's_ , she thought, _except his represents that power of his mother's love, while mine represents the power of Lestrange's hatred for Mudbloods like me._ Harry and Ron glanced at her as if they knew exactly what she was thinking, over the summer, this wasn't the first time she had found herself lost in thought.

However, in all honesty, if someone had told Hermione a year ago that she would be Head girl, she would've thought that they'd been hexed with the Confundus charm. A year ago, Voldemort was at large, targeting Muggle-borns and blood traitors, and Death Eaters roamed the school with ease. There was no way she could go back and complete her seventh year at that time.

Although, after the defeat of Voldemort, Hermione decided to finish her final year of education at Hogwarts, but to her dismay, Harry and Ron decided they had better things to do than return.

"I want to start my Auror training," her bespectacled friend had announced, a smile playing on his lips, "And soon enough, once Ginny graduates, we'll move in with each other." When Harry had said this, Hermione couldn't have helped but to smile, he and Ginny were smitten.

While Ron, on the other hand, was still unsure about what he wanted to do. "...but I'm definitely not going back to that ruddy school." he had said, earning himself a soft punch from Hermione. _How could he miss out on finishing his education at the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry?_ She had thought.

Hogwarts had always been a like a second home to Hermione, mainly because of all her friends, however, going back without them made her feel a bit sad. After all, the only people she knew who would be in her year were Ginny, Neville, Luna and a few other Gryffindors. However, Hermione was sure Ginny had other friends in her grade, and Neville was always swarmed with his 'fan club' after he had slain Nagini, Voldemort's snake. She supposed it was time to branch out and make new friends, after all, she couldn't always just be one-third of the Golden Trio. She considered befriending Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. _They seem like nice girls_ , she thought, but then quickly changed her mind as she began to recall their undying love for the art of Divination and Professor Trelawny. _Well, she did get the Prophecy right_ , she thought hopefully.

Nevertheless, she was still excited to begin her final year at Hogwarts, especially as Head girl. It had always been a dream for her to become Head girl, especially when she first saw Percy Weasley as Head boy, but she reminded herself that she certainly wouldn't be as pompous as him. _Not that it's a bad thing_ , she added hastily.

Summers with the Weasleys always went by quickly. It felt like a blur of good food, many friends and backyard quidditch (not that she liked it very much, she felt a lot safer on the ground). After a very enjoyable summer, Hermione found herself back home, sitting on her bed admiring her shiny, red Head girl badge. She finally understood why Percy Weasley was so obsessed with his badge, it really was an honour yet an important responsibility. She was wearing her Muggle attires, dark-wash denim jeans, a beige t-shirt, and a light cardigan. Finally, it was the day of boarding on the Hogwarts express and the first day of her Head girl duties. Hermione stood in front of the full-length mirror, hairbrush in hand, trying to tame her bushy, brown locks. _Note to self_ , she thought, _look for various hair enchantments to tackle bushy hair._

"Hermione!" her mother called from downstairs, "It's time to go!" She put the hairbrush down with a sigh, her bushy hair could never be tamed and it didn't seem like that was going to change, but for now, she certainly didn't want to be late, especially since she was now Head girl.

"I'm coming, mum!" she said as she went down the stairs slowly, carrying her heavy trunk as her ginger cat, Crookshanks followed.

"It keeps getting fuller every year, doesn't it?" Mrs. Granger chuckled. Ever since she could read, Hermione always had her nose stuck in a book. Literally. Especially Hogwarts: A History, Mrs. Granger could have sworn her daughter had read that twenty-times, at least.

Together, the two Granger women hauled Hermione's book-filled trunk into the car and headed off to King's Cross Station.

"Do you have your ticket?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"Yes, mum."

"All your books?"

"Yes, mum."

"Your wand?"

"Of course!" Hermione said, exasperated, somehow, her mother was even more organised than her, which was a good thing, of course, but from time-to-time, her pestering did get quite annoying. "How could I forget my wand?" 10¾" of vine wood with dragon heartstring, her wand was one of her most treasured possessions.

"Just checking, darling," the brunette's mother replied, "It's just that it's your last year and I want everything to be perfect!" Hermione nodded, so did she.

"I'm sorry that your father couldn't be here," her mother said, "The dentistry is really taking off!" Hermione smiled, her parents, even as dentists, were never really very wealthy, so this was brilliant news.

The cab halted, they had arrived at King's Cross Station! As she hugged her mother good-bye and hauled her heavy trunk onto a trolley, she immediately scanned the crowd for her two best friends; a red-head and someone with unruly, black hair. However, she quickly realised that Harry and Ron would were not returning this year, and she sadly pushed her trolley into platform 9 ¾.

The contrast between the noisy, bustling muggle world and the sudden happiness the wizarding world brought her was astounding. At the Muggle train station, everyone would be hurriedly pushing their way through the crowd, rushing to get wherever they needed, but in the wizarding world, she was met with all her schoolmates, and their families. Through the crowd she noticed a two red-heads bobbing along. A teenage girl with red, straight hair clasping the hand of a shorter lady with bush red-locks that could almost rival Hermione's. The Weasleys! Hurriedly pushing her trolley towards them, she almost ran over poor Ginny Weasley.

"Oh!" cried Mrs. Weasley, dodging out of the way of Hermione's enormous trunk and ginger cat, "Hello, dear." Hermione smiled, Mrs. Weasley had always been like a second mother to her.

"Ready for your last year at Hogwarts? It gets really busy," Mrs. Weasley warned, and Hermione swallowed nervously, "…but it was one of the best years of my life!" Hermione let out a sigh of relief, she always got nervous easily about work.

Mrs. Weasley looked down at her watch in surprise. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "You two better get going, the train leaves in two minutes!" _Two minutes?!_ Hermione thought. It was her first day as Head girl and she had almost missed the train! She was definitely not off to a great start.

"Oh dear," Hermione said as she rushed to give Mrs. Weasley a quick one-handed hug, while her other hand held tightly onto Crookshank's carry-cage, "I have to go. Can't miss the train!"

"Have a good term dears!" Mrs. Weasley called as Hermione and Ginny raced off after each getting a kiss on their forehead from Mrs. Weasley. Watching the backs of two girls makes their way onto the train, Mrs. Weasley couldn't help but notice how fast they had grown up. It was only yesterday when her daughter, Ginny was the little, shy girl, and Hermione was the young curious buck-toothed witched. As Hermione climbed onto the train, a wave of nostalgia washed over her. This would be her second-last time boarding the Hogwarts Express. She stood sadly in the doorway for a moment, but then re-composed herself as the train shook in motion. Holding onto the rails, she re-read the letter she had received over the summer.

 _Dear Miss. Granger,_

 _Congratulations on your appointment as Head girl! I hope you understand this role is a great responsibility, and you will be a role model to many. I wish you the best of luck in your last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and yours N.E.W.T exams. You have been chosen for this role due to your resilience, high-achievement and responsibility._

 _Any misbehaviour will result in loss of your privilege as Head girl (_ Hermione gulped) _, however, I expect you to perform excellently._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Please note that when arriving and departing our school, you must only sit in the Head carriage that you will share with the Head boy._

Crookshanks in tow, Hermione made her way to the Head carriage. _The Head boy could be Neville_ , she thought, _He's always been good, but a bit shy, I guess._ Different speculations of who the Head boy could be filled her head, but were suddenly interrupted when she walked straight into a slightly pudgy, tall brunette.

"Neville!" she cried as he stood right in front of the door to the Head carriage. Although she had seen him before the holidays, he looked quite different. She could've sworn he had grown taller, and he seemed to have let his hair grow out a bit. "You're Head boy aren't you?!" She knew it! Of coursee he had to be Head boy, who else would've been better for the job than him?

"Wait, Hermione-" Neville began.

"Congratulations!" she said, interrupting him, "I knew you would be chosen, I knew it!"

"Two Gryffindors!" Hermione said proudly.

"Well, not really, 'Mione," Neville said slowly.

"What do you mean, Neville?" Hermione said, her smile slowly fading.

"The Head boy is-"

"IT'S HIM! NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!" cried a stampeding crowd of girls heading straight for the poor boy. Hermione snorted, _there comes his 'adoring' fan club_ , she thought snarkily. None of these girls had ever paid attention to Neville, not until he was brought to the spotlight by his bravery in battle.

Neville's face blanched as the gaggle of girls barrelled towards him, _bloody hell_ , he thought frustrated, _just when Hermione starts talking to me…!_ Neville had always had a little crush on Hermione, but of course, she was always oblivious to his feelings.

As the girls came closer, he soon released he was going to get crushed, and he certainly did want to graduate in once piece. "You'll find out!" Neville yelled behind him to Hermione as he ran away, leaving her shocked.

"Neville? Neville!" Hermione yelled as he made a beeline towards a different carriage. _Well,_ Hermione thought, _that certainly was odd._ She pushed open the door and observed the tall Head boy, who was already wearing his Hogwarts robes. He had white-blonde hair and his face was angled away as he stared out the window at the scenery flying by, but she noticed a green tie, tied lazily around his neck, standing out amongst the black uniform. Hermione clenched her teeth, he was a Slytherin. She shook her head, after the war ended, she decided she had had enough of conflict and prejudice.

She cleared her throat, hoping he would turn around. Without her best friends beside her, she felt a lot smaller, shy almost. _Come on Hermione!_ She said to herself, _He's just a boy, it's not like he's going to bite you!_

"Umm…Hi," Hermione began shyly, placing Crookshank's carry-cage onto the leather seat, "I'm Hermione Granger. Head girl." The boy turned around and striking grey eyes faced her brown ones.

"Hello, Granger," said Draco Malfoy, a smirk playing behind his lips.

 **A/N: So... Draco's the Head boy! Guess you didn't see that one coming? (Just joking, hehe.) Anyways, please review, favourite, follow etc. I don't really know lmaoo, anyways, if there's any errors just point them out. Lots of love B)**

 **Word Count: 2245 - I think the chapters will average around 2000 words each, sometimes more, sometimes less. Depends.**


	2. Draco Malfoy

**A/N: Yay! Second chapter out less than 24 hours than the first one. I got my first review for this story from TeamCullenPotterJackson, so shout out to you! Thank you very much x Please review, favourite and follow** **Head to Head** **, it really means a lot to me and inspires me to write even more. Also, if you have any ideas for this story or anything you would like to happen, please write a review about it! I love sharing ideas and collaborating. Happy reading!**

Hermione gaped at the blonde boy sitting in front of her. _Draco Malfoy?_ she thought _. How did he become Head boy?_ It was clear that Neville wasn't the only one that had changed over the holidays, his platinum-blonde hair, which was usually slicked back with gel hung loosely in front of his pale, pointed face. She did notice, with a slight hint of disgust, that he did look fairly attractive. Not that she cared, of course.

"Take a picture," he sneered, "It'll last longer." Hermione was taken aback. She would've expected at least some manners after the whole Voldemort-Death Eater ordeal, after all, hadn't everyone had enough of conflict? She regained her composure lost from his rude remark and fired back, "There's nothing worth taking a picture of!" She had expected him to reply sarcastically, or call her some foul term like he always had, however, he simply just rolled his eyes and turned back to face the window.

"Hermione Granger…" he drawled. "Brightest Witch of the Age comes up with a retort like that." Hermione seethed at his mocking tone.

"Draco Malfoy," she replied in a similar tone. "Former Death Eater, now Hogwarts Head Boy?" He turned to face her, shocked by her reply, and looked as if he had been slapped in the face. _I might've hit a nerve_ , Hermione winced in her head.

Hesitantly, Hermione sat down across from him and placed Crookshank's carry-cage down on the seat. In their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she had noticed that Draco looked ill, and as she sat across from him, she noticed that he still didn't look any better. He had dark eye bags under his grey eyes, his eyes were squinty as if he were to nod off at any moment, and his brows were furrowed. Her glare softened, Head boy and girl spent a lot of time with each other, and she was determined to make this year at Hogwarts her greatest.

"Are you alright, Draco?" she shuddered at her use of his first name, it felt very foreign to her. She cringed at her poor attempt of creating small talk. _Are you alright?_ She repeated. _Are you alright?!_ She really could do better and his reply proved her doubts right.

"I don't need your pity, Granger." He sounded as if he were trying to sound snarky, but instead, his remark was more of a sigh, and he continued to stare out of the window, "Especially coming from a mudbl-"

Hermione flinched visibly and tried to discretely pull her sleeve further down her wrist to cover her scar. Malfoy looked up, noticing her action and his bored smirk quickly turn to an expression of guilt.

"Sorry," he said quickly, barely audible. The apology felt foreign rolling out of his tongue, he hadn't apologised for doing anything since forever. _Why am I even talking to Hermione Granger?_ He thought. _One-third of the Golden Trio, girl-who-snogged-Weasley and Harry Potter's best friend._ He gagged.

"What was that?" she said, surprised.

"So-rry," he said frustrated, exaggerating each syllable. The girl should get herself a pair of Extendable Ears. Hermione was taken aback. She never thought she was would live to hear Draco Malfoy apologise to anyone, let alone a Muggle-born.

"It's okay," she said quietly, but it wasn't. Having a name that someone had taunted and harassed her with for years forever left on her body would never be okay. _It wasn't him who did it, it was his Bellatrix Lestrange_ , she thought sympathetically. _His aunt,_ she countered to no one in particular, _need I remind you, that he was there as well._

A loud tapping on the window interrupted her train of thought. Draco jumped up from his seat, startled, and pulled open the window to let in a large, brown tawny owl. It was carrying a white envelope, sealed with the crest of Saint Mungo's: Hospital of Magical Maladies and Injuries. He quickly ripped the letter out of the owl's grip, and the owl flew out of the carriage, giving him an offended 'hoot'.

 _Why is he receiving letters from Saint Mungo's?_ Hermione thought to herself, _he isn't sick, is he?_ Although she did admit that he did look quite ill. His creamy pale complexion now looked more like a washed-out grey.

Draco tore open the letter, trying to keep his hands from shaking. He was sick of receiving worried glances from Hermione. He pulled out the parchment from the envelope and began to read the neat, loopy handwriting.

 _Dear Mr. Malfoy,_ (Draco tensed, being called 'Mr. Malfoy' reminded him of his filthy father)

 _I regret to inform you that Narcissa Malfoy's condition begins to worsen. Her mental health is quickly declining, and day-by-day her spirits dampen. Every single talk I've had with her, she's mentioned how she misses her husband, Lucius Malfoy, however, as you have stated earlier, he is unable to visit her._

 _I think we need to schedule a meeting to discuss Mrs. Malfoy's health, and it is imperative that it is in the near future._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Evelyn Dalby_

 _Head Healer of the Mental Health Department at Saint Mungo's Hospital of Magical Maladies and Injuries_

Draco slowly folded the letter in half, and placed it back into the envelope. _Damn it_ , he thought frustrated, _what am I going to do?_ His father, Lucius Malfoy, was sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban after his allegiance to Voldemort was discovered. However, Draco couldn't give a damn as his father had forced him into being a Death-Eater, which had been one of the worst experiences of his life, just to restore honour to the Malfoy name. The name that Lucius had tarnished in the first place with his cowardice to admit his allegiance to Voldemort. No way was he going to let Lucius see his mother again. _Scumbag,_ Draco thought as he started out the window, gazing at the dark sky that he could've sworn was bright and sunny before. _Time flies by when you're reading a letter about your mother's potential death_ , Draco thought sarcastically.

For the rest of the train ride, the Head girl and boy sat in silence. Draco appeared to be nodding off, while Hermione re-read Hogwarts: A History.

After a long train ride from King's Cross Station, they had finally arrived at Hogwarts. _The train rides have never felt that long,_ she thought. Although Harry and Ron would always do something stupid, they would always make her laugh and the train rides would never feel long or boring. Hermione stood up out of her seat to admire the gorgeous moonlit castle, scaring her ginger cat who had been sleeping in her lap. She turned to Malfoy to notice that he hadn't even attempted to get out of his seat yet. So much for responsibility.

"Malfoy," she said, "Malfoy." He stayed still and stared out the window as students began to clamber out of the train. "Malfoy, we have to help Hagrid out with the first years." Frustrated at his lack of response, Hermione yelled, "Draco Lucius Malfoy! We have to help Hagrid with the first years!"

Malfoy snapped his head towards her, clearly shocked by her outburst. "Mmhmm…" he grunted sleepily his rigid posture relaxed back into the leather chair. He began to drag himself out of the carriage, following the brunette towards the first years. As Hermione stepped outside, she took a moment to readjust to the sudden lack of light, the carriage had been well-lit, while the only light she could find were a few lone lanterns scattered around the station.

"Hermione!" boomed Hagrid, startling her, "Where's Harry and Ron?" She sighed. It looked like they hadn't told Hagrid they weren't coming back this year, either that or they were extremely forgetful. _Boys_ , Hermione thought.

"Hagrid!" cried Hermione as she flung herself into the giant's arms and he gave her a bone-crushing hug, "Harry and Ron aren't coming back this year…" she added sadly.

Hagrid nodded sadly, "I thought this place was like Harry's home, but I guess everything that has happened has proved that things always changed." Hagrid smiled, but Hermione could see he was quite sad, Harry was like the son he never had, and he too was close to Ron. This year really wasn't going to be the same.

"How about I come to visit you as soon as possible?" Hermione asked in an attempt to cheer the Care for Magical Creatures teacher up, but a pang of regret hit her as memories of trying to eat Hagrid's rock-hard cakes returned, "I'll be busy this year as Head girl."

"Wow, Hermione!" exclaimed Hagrid, his smile returned, "Head girl! You've grown up so fast, I remember the day when you came as a little, buck-toothed first-year." He said tearfully, "Oh!" he said, "that reminds me…"

"FIRS' YEARS!" Hagrid boomed, scaring Hermione, Draco and a small group of nervous-looking students who Hermione could only assume were first years. "FIRS' YEARS O'ER HERE!" Little by little, small groups and individual first years began to scurry over to Hagrid, scared to approach the giant teacher. Hermione loved Hagrid, but she did admit that he did look quite frightening if you hadn't spoke to him before.

"Okay," Hagrid began, a lot more quite after he noticed the first years pale faces, "We're gonna cross the lake with these boats o'er here. No, no… don't be scared, nothing's gonna grab yer!" **[A/N: OMG IM SORRY THIS IS SUCH A BAD REPRESENTATION OF HIS ACCENT]**

Hermione noticed a small girl with straight black hair standing alone, clearly nervous to enter a boat. "Hi," Hermione said softly, tapping the girl on her shoulder lightly, "Do you want a hand?" The girl looked up and nodded. "What's your name?"

"Iris," the girl said, "Iris Jung." She looked quite nervous and clutched a small, battered book in her hand, strongly reminding Hermione of herself. On the edge of lake between the train station and Hogwarts, Hermione held on the edge of a wooden boat to keep it steady as Iris climbed in, along with a few other first years. Then, the brunette leant forwards, dangerously over the edge, to push the little boat forwards.

"Granger!" Draco called, startling her, which definitely was not wise seeing she was close to falling in.

"Merlin, Malfoy! You almost made me-"

-and with a big splash she fell into the lake.

She felt herself sinking; she never really learnt to swim very well, especially not in dark, murky waters and the heavy robes didn't help as well.

"Malfoy!" she yelled, but it only came out as a group of bubbles floating to the surface.

Draco watched her fall into the ice-cold lake head-first. It really was quite funny and he let out a loud laugh, doubling over in tears. However, he looked up and saw a few frightened faces of the first-years as their little boats bobbed towards the school. The rest of them were far across the lake, along with the Care of Magical Creatures teacher.

"Oh bloody hell, Granger," he muttered after she didn't surface for a bit, and he remembered his Head boy responsibilities. "I really don't want to do this," and he dived in.

He saw her almost immediately; she hadn't gone very deep because she was flailing her arms and legs in a poor attempt to swim upwards. Although in her defence, it was working. Mildly. He swam downwards towards the sinking brunette and clasped her small hand. Slowly, he began to swim upwards. The weight of their school robes and a rucksack she had slung around herself, which was undoubtedly filled with books, certainly wasn't helping Draco. With an enormous amount of effort, he managed to grab hold on the edge of the pier and haul them both upwards.

"What was that, Granger?!" he yelled angrily when they had both surfaced and taken a few deep breaths.

"I fell," she said simply and he growled in frustration. _You fell?!_ He thought angrily.

"Anyways," she continued. "It's only because you startled me in the first place!" Draco gaped at her, now she was trying to pin it on him?! No way.

"I startled you?!" Draco yelled.

"Yes," she replied nonchalantly.

"So it was my fault?!"

"Yes," she replied in a monotone voice.

"You're unbelievable, Granger!" Draco said, "I save your life just because you want to hold on to a few bloody books, and you try to blame it on me?! Unbelievable."

Hermione winced. Well, when he put it like that, it did make her sound bad. "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly, like a child who had done something wrong, or taken a cookie from the jar.

Draco snorted at the absurdity of the situation. "Whatever," he said, "let's just get to school." The pair took the remaining boat and climbed in carefully.

They both didn't want a repeat of what happened, especially Hermione, she had enough embarrassment to last for the rest of the year.

As the boat bobbed slowly towards the school, Hermione couldn't help but notice how beautiful everything was around her. The moonlit lake was completely still except for the slight ripples their boat left in the water, the dark sky was dotted with stars and the castle across the lake looked magnificent as the first time she had seen it when she was eleven years old.

"It's so beautiful…" she said with a sigh, leaning back into the wooden boat. She had expected the Head boy to make a snide remark about how the school is just a 'pile of rocks' or how stars are just 'blobs of light'. However, instead, he quietly agreed with her.

"It really is, Granger," he said, catching her by surprise. She turned towards him, his pale face illuminated by the moonlight and his platinum blonde hair, resting above his shimmering grey eyes. She wondered, maybe in another life he would've been nice, and maybe in another life he wouldn't have bullied her, then she certainly would've been friends with him. Maybe she would've fallen in-

 _Hermione Granger!_ A voice in her head said, interrupting her thought. Was she really just thinking about Draco Malfoy's 'shimmering grey eyes'. She could only imagine her best friends' reactions if they would know what she was thinking just then, that would be mortifying.

A small bump in the boat indicated that they had reached the other side of the lake, and had finally arrived at the school. Hermione looked up to find a pale hand extending out towards her to offer her assistance out of the boat, and she smiled, maybe people do change, even Draco Malfoy.

However, she lifted her eyes further up and saw something that she hadn't seen since the end of the war, and wished she would never see again.

A snake coiled around a skull in black ink stood out against Draco's pale inner forearm.

The Dark Mark.


	3. Awake at 2 AM

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers! Welcome to chapter 3 of Head to Head. I know it doesn't seem like much, but thank you for 6 followers ((: Just note that the bit in italics at the start is a chunk of the ending bit of the last chapter, just to give you a refresher.**

 _A small bump in the boat indicated that they had reached the other side of the lake, and had finally arrived at the school. Hermione looked up to find a pale hand extending out towards her to offer her assistance out of the boat, and she smiled, maybe people do change, even Draco Malfoy._

 _However, she lifted her eyes further up and saw something that she hadn't seen since the end of the war, and wished she would never see again._

 _A snake coiled around a skull in black ink stood out against Draco's pale inner forearm._

 _The Dark Mark._

At the sight of the black ink imprinted on the Slytherin's arm, Hermione jumped back into the boat, hitting her head on the hard, wooden surface.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, confused, oblivious to the fact that his long sleeve had ridden up his pale arm. "Granger?" His grey eyes followed hers downwards where they rested on his inner forearm. His face blanched, and he hastily pulled down the sleeve on his black robes.

Hermione took a deep breath. _We're going to be late to the feast_ , she thought and clambered clumsily out of the little boat.

"It doesn't go away?" she asked Draco, gesturing to his left arm, which was now completely covered with his black robes, except for his pale fingertips.

"Never," Draco spat, turning away, his long strides carrying him away from her. Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It would always remain as a constant reminder of his mistakes and his past, but then again, he was a Death Eater.

In complete utter silence, the unlikely pair headed to the Great Hall, positive that they were both very late.

They stood in front of the tall, grand doors of the Great Hall side-by-side; the Slytherin and Gryffindor. Hermione held her ear against the wooden door and listened to the headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall's voice echo around the hall.

"We're late, Malfoy," Hermione winced. "So late…" She had never been late on her first day at school, and it just had to happen when she was Head girl.

"Granger." Draco's voice interrupted her frantic thinking. "We're late, get over it."

She turned to him, shocked. How could he simply play off the fact that they, the Head boy and girl, were late to the very first feast of the year? She put her ear back against the door. "She's still talking," Hermione observed, "McGonagall, I mean."

"And?" The platinum-blonde haired boy said nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow. "Let's just go in."

"We would be interrupting her speech!" she said, almost hysterically, she had never been late before! "She hates being interrupted!" Draco turned to her and snorted.

"Well, we're just getting later by the minute," he said. "Your choice, Granger." She sighed in frustration, he was right. They really were quite late.

"I guess we should go in…" she sighed.

"Okay, you first."

"Okay." She paused.

"Granger, go in."

"Okay," but she made no move to go in as she clasped the brass door handle.

"Granger, go in!" Draco yelled. "It's not like you're going to get a detention for being a few minutes late!"

Hermione sighed, "Okay."

"I swear to Merlin, Granger," Draco said. "If I hear another bloody okay from you, I'm pushing you in."

"Okay!" Hermione cried, but then turned to Draco, a grumpy expression plastered across his pale face. _Blast,_ she thought, _I said okay again._

"Are you going to push me in?" she said mockingly, crossing her arms across her chest. He wouldn't do that, would he?

"No," he grunted in reply. "Just go inside." She pushed open the door, holding her head high, determined to make a good impression as the new Head girl. However, as she walked in she felt the back of her robe catch on something, surprised, she turned around to find an equally as shocked Draco Malfoy behind her, his foot caught on the back of her robes. She could feel herself losing balance, and in a desperate attempt, Draco tried to lunge forwards to catch her.

Then she fell forwards.

The laughter of hundreds of witches and wizards surrounded her; she turned behind her and saw her fellow Head boy sprawled behind her. It didn't look like he got the better end of the deal. As she tried to untangle herself from Draco, she noticed a pair of long, black robes standing in front of her and looked up. Face turning red, she found herself face-to-face an elderly witch with grey hair pulled back into a tight bun and a tall black hat. The new Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, and she certainly didn't look happy to see her.

Eyeing the Head girl clumsily pulling herself upwards, McGonagall shook her head, disappointed. "Please meet me in my office after the feast, Miss. Granger," she said curtly and peer behind the bushy-haired girl at Draco, who was still struggling to regain his posture. "You too, Mister. Malfoy." Draco groaned, he couldn't even stay out of trouble for the first week. "My office now resides in the old headmaster's." A wave of sadness washed over Hermione, it had finally hit her that Dumbledore wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts this year, or ever.

"For now, please find a seat…" the Headmistress sighed wearily, she would've thought that with Potter and Weasley gone, Hermione Granger wouldn't put a toe out of line, but clearly she had been wrong.

The two to walked towards their respecting tables, Gryffindor and Slytherin, smiling sheepishly. It was certainly not the entrance they had expected for their seventh-year. Hermione scanned the Gryffindor table, looking for at least somebody she knew. Usually, she sat with Harry and Ron, but they were, for obvious reasons, not there.

"Hermione!" Ginny Weasley called. "Over here!" Hermione turned around, relieved to find a familiar face. She made her way over and Ginny shuffled aside to make room for her friend.

"So…" Ginny said, smirking. "You and Malfoy, huh?" Hermione gasped. How could she even think that? Hermione and Draco had years of rivalry between them, and it made her reminisce of the time she had socked him in the face. It really was one of her proudest moments.

"There is no me and Malfoy!" Hermione demanded. Ginny sipped her pumpkin juice, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"I heard the Head girl and Head boy spend a lot of time together…" Ginny continued, a sly grin on her face. "They even share sleeping quarters." Shared sleeping quarters?! Nobody had told Hermione about this.

"No way!" Hermione protested. "McGonagall would never have a boy and girl share sleeping quarters. Anyway, I'm meeting with her and Malfoy later, so prepare to be proven wrong!" Hermione gulped, that reminded her. She would be meeting in the Headmistress's office after the feast, and boy was she nervous. She had never gotten in trouble, really, and the other times she had gotten in trouble was for, ahem, a good cause. Namely saving the wizarding world, of course.

"Absolutely embarrassing," McGonagall said as she sat at her desk in front of the Head boy and girl. Hermione gulped nervously, while Draco appeared to be hiding a smirk.

"I chose you two as the Head students because you have always displayed exemplary behaviour and morals." Hermione turned to Draco, _since when had he ever done a good thing in his life?_ she thought angrily.

"However," McGonagall continued angrily. "Not only did you arrive late, but you entered in such a…" She paused, lost for words. "Dramatic manner, I dare say."

"It's not my fault!" Draco cried, angrily. "She just had to go ahead and fall into the lake."

"-because you scared me!" Hermione contradicted. _How could he blame this all on her?!_

"Yeah, and then I saved your arse, scaredy-cat."

"I was doing just fine, thank you!"

"Sure thing, Granger," he smirked.

"Then you stepped on my robe!" she began. "…and made me fall over in front of the whole school!"

"It was an accident!" Draco professed. "You were taking too long to go inside, anyway."

The two continued arguing, and arguing as McGonagall shook her head, disappointed. In all her years at Hogwarts, she had never seen such a disorderly pair of Head students.

"Enough!" she yelled. "You two are supposed to be role models for the younger years, especially the first-years, however, you're acting extremely immature and arguing over who's at fault." McGonagall sighed and pushed her thin-framed glasses up her nose, her frayed black hat drooping sadly.

"I can't even look at you two anymore," she sighed. "Go to your quarters together and sort this out." Hermione gasped. Ginny was right, after all, her brother Percy Weasley had been Head boy.

"Do you have a problem, Miss. Granger?" the Headmistress said, surveying the shocked expression on the Head Girl's face.

"No, of course not," Hermione replied quickly, masking her surprise well. Draco turned to her and smirked. _Teacher's pet_ , he thought.

"Perfect," McGonagall said as she stood up from her desk. "Please go to bed now, and remember that starting from tomorrow night, you will begin your night patrols together." The Head boy and girl both winced when McGonagall had said 'together', they couldn't stand another moment with each other.

"Have a good night," the headmistress said wearily as she ushered them out of her office into the dark, torch-lit corridor. As soon as she as they had turned the first corner, Draco started speaking in a high-pitched, taunting voice.

"I can't even look at you two anymore," he said in a squeaky voice, clearly imitating Professor McGonagall. "Absolutely embarrassing!" He scoffed, amused with the lecture he had just received. "Merlin, I can't stand that woman. Absolutely insufferable." Hermione gasped, how could he even speak of a teacher like that?

"I know what you're thinking, Granger," he sneered, turning to Hermione. "How could I be so rude to the headmistress?" He laughed angrily, his grey eyes flashing with hatred. "I know what you've said about Professor Snape in the past, Granger, you of all people should learn a thing or two about respect." Turning away angrily, he quickened his pace, which was not easy as he was easily a third of a foot taller than her, and his long legs were certainly to his advantage. Thinking of all the times he had bullied Harry, Ron and herself in potions, she was determined to shoot back a retort, however, quickly remembering how he was close to Draco before his passing, she decided to keep her mouth shut. _Just this once_ , she thought as she followed Draco through the wooden door which lead to their sleeping quarters.

As she entered the room, she gasped in surprise. She knew that the Head boy and girl were important figures in the school, but she could never imagine having a room like this. A red, black and beige Persian carpet spread across the wide room, tall glass windows, bewitched to show a gorgeous star-speckled night, with red and gold silk curtains covered the cobblestone walls while across from them was a cosy fireplace in front of a plush red couch.

"It's gorgeous," Hermione said, absolutely awestruck by the grandeur of the room.

"The red and gold makes me sick," Draco sighed, mock-gagging. "The room really needs a splash of green, or silver." He added. Hermione shot daggers at him.

"One more comment like that, and I'll hex you," she said warningly. Draco opened his mouth, but quickly shut it and Hermione smiled smugly. He would certainly not like to be hexed today, or ever.

Hermione climbed the stairs to her room to find a room as beautiful as the first. Her bed was a lot larger than her previous one in the Gryffindor tower and the room was even more spacious than her own at home. The Gryffindor lion was emblazoned on the red draping curtains and, to her surprise, she found all of her trunk already neatly sorted out. Books on the mahogany desk, clothes folded neatly in the tall dresser and photographs stood-up on her bedside table. It was a bit odd to image little house-elves rummaging through her stuff, however, it wasn't out of the ordinary. Those creatures always tended to overdo things.

She walked across her room to find another door which led to an ensuite bathroom; walls covered in white marble, a golden chandelier hanging from the surprisingly tall roof and a giant bathtub which she could've easily mistaken for a small swimming pool. Tracing up a marble pillar, she found a gold-rimmed clock which read the time of 10:43 pm. _Blimey!_ she thought. _It's almost eleven!_ She opened the bathroom cabinet, and to her surprise, the house-elves had already placed her toothbrush, toothpaste and other toiletries in the cabinet. She brushed her teeth for two minutes, each quarter of her mouth for thirty seconds and smiled in the mirror, gazing at a reflection of even, pearly whites. After all, her parents were dentists! After pointlessly trying to tame her bushy, brown locks, she slid out of her robes and into a pair of soft, satin red and gold pyjamas she found laying on her bed. _Those certainly weren't there before…_ she thought. She debated going downstairs for a cup of hot chocolate but she did need all the sleep she could get, after all, she had Potions with the Slytherins tomorrow. However, a pang of guilt hit her. The previous Potions teacher, Severus Snape, had died during the war. Although he had been insufferable and unfair to the Gryffindors, she felt as if she was getting used to his snide comments, it was almost part of her routine. However, she was guilty of wishing for the new teacher to be better but still felt culpable comparing the new teacher whom she hadn't met, to a dead man.

Flopping tiredly on her bed, she let out a loud yawn. Today had been a long day; a boring train ride with Draco Malfoy, falling into the lake, tripping in front of the whole school and receiving a lecture from the headmistress had certainly tired her out. _Should I say goodnight to Malfoy?_ She thought, however the idea was soon abandoned as she curled under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

It was 2:06 when she awoke again to a loud bang from downstairs. Sitting up, alert, she crept down the stairs with her wand held cautiously in front of her. However, instead of an intruder, she found a tall, platinum-blonde haired boy standing in the mini-kitchen, his bleary grey eyes staring at the floor, unfocused.

"Malfoy?" Draco turned around, surprised to find her awake.

"I thought you were asleep," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Well, I was until I heard a bang," she replied. "What happened?"

"I was making coffee," he sighed. "Then I accidentally broke the mug."

"Coffee? At 3 am?" She walked towards him and surveyed the scene. A dark brown liquid was splattered on the stone floor and shards of green ceramic lay scattered. She watched him pull out his wand.

"Evanesco," he muttered and the mess on the floor vanished with a 'pop'. "You should be going to sleep now, Granger."

"You should be going to sleep now, Malfoy," Hermione replied, copying his tone. Draco rolled his tired eyes and shook his head.

"I'm not tired,"' he said, and Hermione wanted to burst out laughing as she watched him desperately try to suppress a yawn.

"If you won't go to sleep, then I won't go to sleep," she protested, her Gryffindor stubborn-ness shining through. Draco opened his mouth, about to complain, but watching her unwavering expression, he knew this was a fight he wasn't going to win.

"Fine," he huffed. "Just don't try to talk to me, or anything weird like that." He took long strides over to the plush red couch and sat down on the end, head resting on the back. Tentatively, Hermione stepped towards the couch and sat down on the opposite end.

As the two sat on the couch, Draco averted his grey eyes, and instead stared at the blazing fireplace. Brilliant flames of orange, yellow and red curled in the brick fireplace, turning the black wood into charcoal. It was almost hypnotizing watching the fireplace, the quiet crackling of the flickering fire made him feel at peace, but Draco knew that when he closed his eyes again, the horrible nightmares would return. After he had been cleared of all charges as a Death Eater, the nightmares wouldn't stop. Horrible scenes that he had witnessed at during the war would return every night. His wand pointed towards Dumbledore. The screaming of the Muggles. The Muggle Studies teacher's body suspended over the dining table. More and more would enter his head every night, and he soon found that the only solution was not going to sleep at all. At least the dreams wouldn't come.

As he found himself lost in thought, he hadn't noticed that Hermione had fallen asleep opposite him. Draco chuckled watching the brunette curled up in a little ball, almost like a little child. Careful not to disturb her peaceful slumber, he scooped her up and carried her up the stairs into her dorm. As he placed her onto her bed, he gently pushed a stray piece of brown hair away from her face.

"Goodnight, Granger."

 **A/N: Chapter three out! I hope you guys enjoyed this story, and please review. It's really motivating when I get any positive comments or even tips on how to improve. Make sure you don't miss a chapter by following/favouriting this story! Lots of loveee x**

 **Word Count (not including italics the starts) : 2794!**


	4. Professor Margot

**A/N:** **Chapter four it out! Happy reading x Also, thank you for 2 favourites and 8 followers, it doesn't seem like much but it really means a lot to me! Please, please, please review!**

It was the first day of lessons and Hermione was excited as ever to finally begin learning. After all, it been over a year since she had sat down in a proper classroom with her books and quill. Although her first lesson was Potions with the Slytherins, she was determined to enjoy the lesson because most importantly, it was a new year, meaning a fresh start.

Potions was in the dungeons as it always had been. Although the room rarely saw the light of day and was always dimly lit with a few torches scattered along the walls, the room was still a comforting sight for Hermione. Tall wooden stools surrounded rectangular desks which were covered in cauldron stands, various bottles and other potion-making apparatuses. The brick walls were lined with tall oak cabinets stacked with all the potion-making ingredients any witch or wizard could imagine; jars of moondew, armadillo bile, root of aconite and some ingredients that even Hermione couldn't name. She turned to the front of the dungeon to find the teacher's desk empty, the new teacher seemed to be running late on their first day.

Making her way towards a table with a few familiar faces, she turned around as she heard the creaking of the dungeon door opening. In walked Draco and another Slytherin, Hermione recognised his caramel-coloured, angular face, but she couldn't quite place a finger on who he was. Even from afar, she could tell that Draco looked tired. Although his eyes were certainly not as bleary as they were when he had woken her up in the middle of the night, he still looked exhausted as he conversed casually with his friend.

"Hermione?" Ginny's voice interrupted her thoughts. "What are you looking at?" Hermione turned back around, and smoothed out her skirt as she sat down.

"Nothing," she replied casually, a pink tinge creeping up her cheeks, as she placed down her cauldron onto its stand. Ginny smirked, and nodded as if she actually believed her friend's answer.

"Who do you think the new teacher's going to be?" Hermione asked, steering the conversation to a new topic.

"I don't know, really," Ginny said. "I don't mind, as long as they're better than-" She paused for a moment. "Well, never mind." Their short-lived conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud bang from outside the dungeon. The two girls both jumped in fright.

"What was… that sound?" Hermione said slowly, averting her attention towards the door. She noticed the Gryffindors and Slytherins pulling out their wands as they all faced the door, but they all exhaled in relief when they heard a voice from outside.

"I'm alright!" cried a chirpy female's voice. They craned their necks in order to get a better view of their new Potions teacher as the door began to open and she walked in.

A tall woman, who appeared to be in her mid-20s, entered the room. She had long butterscotch hair, with the most gorgeous wavy texture that Hermione envied, and she wore simple, sky-blue robes. Her arms and neck were also clad with a series of bangles and necklaces which remind Hermione strongly of Professor Trelawney's. A stack of books and a large cauldron balanced precariously on her outstretched arms as she slowly made her way to the desk at the front. With a loud 'thud', she dropped her stuff onto the table and swore quite colourfully. "I should've just used a levitation charm," she muttered, taking a few deep breaths. It seemed that she had forgotten the class was even there until she heard the squeaking of a desk chair.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, turning to the class. "My name is Margot McGonagall, and I'm your new Potions teacher. Sorry if I gave you a fright, I dropped my cauldron on the way here."

"Come again?" Ginny said, breaking the confused silence of the students. "Your name is Margot _McGonagall_?"

"Yes!" she replied happily. "Niece of the Headmistress. Call me Professor Ellie, though. Professor McGonagall makes me feel old…" Ginny nodded. Hermione surveyed the class and assumed that everyone was thinking along the same lines, how could a chirpy girl like Margot McGonagall be related to the Minerva No-Nonsense McGonagall? Not that there was anything wrong with being no-nonsense.

"I'm not sure if anyone even does this anymore, but let's do the roll, shall we?" As she read at the roll, Hermione discovered that Harry and Ron weren't the only people who weren't coming back this year. Many witches and wizards from her year hadn't returned, including Parvati Patil, Gregory Goyle and Pansy Parkinson. She also discovered that the boy Draco was sitting next to was Blaise Zabini, a previous member of the 'Slug Club'. No wonder why he had looked familiar, not that she was observing them or anything weird like that.

"We'll be going back to your sixth-year potions for this first lesson," Professor Margot began, "Amortentia, the strongest love potion, one of my favourites, I might add. You'll be brewing this advanced potion in partners." She paused as she watched students shuffling their stools towards each other, and Hermione and Ginny gave each other a look. "…which I'll be picking!" The class groaned, they knew this wouldn't end well.

"Let's mix up the houses, shall we?" she said, pulling her wand out of her robes and began to levitate the students around the room haphazardly. Ginny with Blaise Zabini. Neville with Millicent Bullstrode. Lavender Brown with Theodore Nott. Soon, Hermione realised she hadn't been moved yet.

"Um… Professor Margot?" Hermione said, raising her hand politely. "I don't have a partner…"

"Oh! Sorry Holly," the Professor replied and raised her wand.

"It's Hermione," she corrected as she gripped onto her chair as it levitated across the room before landing softly on the ground behind an empty table.

The Professor raised her wand again, "Well, Hermione, it seems that you're left with the blondie." _Blondie?_ Hermione thought, but her mouth opened in shocks as she watched a very uncomfortable-looking Draco fly towards her at a dangerously fast speed.

"Oh dear…" Professor Margot muttered, but then added loudly. "Watch out, Hermione!"

Hermione just managed to dodge the flying chair and Slytherin as she leapt under her desk, a loud crash coming from behind her. She turned around to find Draco (and the sad remains of his chair) on the ground, Draco rubbing his wrist gingerly.

"I'm okay," Draco tried to say strongly, but it came out as more of a wince.

"Are you sure?" Professor Margot asked as the rest of the class swivelled in their stools to observe the scene, Blaise's face red in the attempt of holding down a laugh.

 _Say one word and it's over_ _for you Zabini,_ Draco mouthed, flipping the bird with his uninjured hand. In response, Blaise stuck out a tongue and turned back to face his partner, Ginny.

"Are you alright, Malfoy?" Hermione asked, suppressing a fit of giggles as she watched him clamber upwards.

"I'm fine, Granger," he spat, as he sat on the new chair that Professor Margot had conjured. "Let's just brew the potion."

Things started off well, they were already up to step three, adding the refined peppermint oil. However, as Draco tipped over the vial of oil, Hermione slapped it out of his grasp.

"What was that for?" he spat, turning to his partner angrily.

"You didn't measure it!" she cried. "The book calls for a quarter ounce, you just tipped in whatever amount you liked!"

"And?" Draco said smugly. "I estimated."

"You don't estimate when it comes to making potions!" Hermione said, annoyed. "It requires precision and care."

"What's all this commotion about?" Professor Margot asked, standing up from her desk and making her way towards the disgruntled pair.

"Malfoy's being an annoying git," Hermione stated plainly, causing Ginny to giggle.

"Granger's being a measurement-obsessed shrew," Draco said, mimicking his partner's tone. The teacher surveyed the pair, clearly amused.

"Everyone stop what you're doing!" she said suddenly and Neville dropped his wooden spoon into the cauldron in surprise. She whipped her wand from out of her robes and muttered a spell. At once, the bubbling potions suddenly froze, even the bubbles stayed still.

"Let's play a little bonding game with our new partners, shall we?" Hermione and Draco both shivered at the word 'bonding'. "You'll each take turns asking each other a question, and hopefully as your conversation progresses, the deeper your questions will become." Draco smirked at the word 'deeper', Professor Margot was beginning to sound a lot like Professor Trelawney, the Divination teacher. "We will do this for the next ten minutes, and then you may continue brewing your potions."

Hermione turned around in her stool to face Draco and they both avoided as much eye contact as possible. "You first, Granger," he said irritably, gesturing to her.

"Why are you always such an annoying git?" she asked innocently, cocking her head to the side.

"Because I can be…" he answered. "Why do you always act like such a know-it-all?"

"It's called being education-invested," she replied and reached out to slap his hand. Hurt flashed across his face and he quickly pulled back his arm. However, instead of the apology he expected, she smiled smugly as she watched him grasp his wrist gingerly.

"Why are you smiling like a banshee?" he asked quizzically.

"It's because I just proved a point," Hermione replied. "Your wrist is injured, isn't it?"

"Yes," Draco replied. "And?"

"Why don't you just see Madam Pomfrey and get it fixed up? Hermione asked, her expression softening as she noticed that his wrist was already beginning to swell. It certainly looked broken.

"I can't," Draco replied, a shadow of fear passed over his face.

"Why not?" Hermione asked, confused.

"It's my left arm," he said nervously. "She'll see it." Hermione looked at him, momentarily confused, but then realised what he meant. His Dark Mark was on his left arm. No wonder why he didn't want the school matron to have a look at it, she could only imagine Madam Pomfrey's horrified expression as she rolls up Draco's sleeve to find the Dark Mark.

"I'm sick of getting horrified stares when my sleeve accidentally lifts up the tiniest bit," he said. "It's infuriating." Hermione paused. The nervous, hurt boy in front of her was shockingly different from the arrogant child she met in her first year at Hogwarts. Things really had changed.

"I can fix it for you?" Hermione offered.

"Sorry?" Draco said.

"I said, I can fix your wrist for you," Hermione said sheepishly. "I'm no Madam Pomfrey, but I do know a thing or two about Muggle healing methods. I can fix you up in our dorm?" Draco agreed and nodded, normally he would've said no, but the pain in his wrist was unbearable.

"Professor Margot?" Hermione asked, raising her hand. "Can I escort Malfoy to the Hospital Wing? He's hurt his wrist pretty badly."

"Yeah, no problem," Professor Margot replied. "Good to see you two getting along." Behind the teacher's line of sight was Ginny, winking at Hermione as she and Draco left the Potion's Dungeon.

"So, Muggle healing, huh?" Draco said, as a method of starting a conversation. He refused to have another silently awkward encounter with Hermione again. "How does that work?"

"Well…" Hermione began to ramble off about an assortment of common healing methods, pressure, ice and casts, as Draco nodded, slightly overwhelmed with the sudden surge of foreign information. When they had reached the door, Draco pushed open the door with his uninjured hand and gestured for Hermione to enter first. She blushed. She wasn't use to his 'gentleman' side.

"Stay here," Hermione said firmly, pointed to the couch as she ran up the stairs to fetch a roll of gauze and medical tape. _I can't believe I'm sitting in the dorm I share with Hermione Granger, waiting for her to fix my injured wrist_ , Draco thought, chuckling.

"What's so funny, Malfoy?" Hermione asked, reappearing in the room with a roll of gauze and medical tape.

"Nothing," he said with a shrug. "So, work your magic." He held out his wrist towards her, his face grimacing with pain.

"I have to warn you, I'm not a professional," Hermione said and Draco stared back at her, an eyebrow arched. She began to wrap the gauze delicately, yet tightly around his injured wrist which had now turned a sickly shade of purple. She pulled up his sleeve as she continued wrapping, revealing his Dark Mark.

"Do you ever regret the things you did?" Hermione said quietly, meeting his grey eyes.

"All the time, Granger," Draco replied, his signature smirk gone. "Whenever I close my eyes, let my thoughts wander or even when I'm trying to go to sleep. All the time, every single minute of my day I think about the things I did as a Death Eater, I'm not proud of what I did. I don't think anyone would be." He took a deep breath and sighed as if he had been holding that in for a long time.

"Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here," Hermione said. Instead of pushing her away as he did on the train, Draco simply nodded and remained silent as she finished wrapping the gauze around his wrist before taping it down with medical tape. Carefully, she pulled down his sleeve over his bandage.

"Done," Hermione said proudly. "Maybe you can just stay here and sit down with an ice pack on top of your wrist until the end of this lesson. There are only about 10 minutes left." She conjured an ice tray, filled it with water and performed a Freezing Charm. Wrapping up the ice cubes in a towel, she placed her make-shift ice pack on his wrist.

"I'm going to head back to potions now," she said. "Finish of our potion." However, as she stood up to leave, she felt his hand grasp her wrist.

"Wait," Draco said, staring up at her. "Don't leave. I could-"

"Could?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Icoulduseyourcompany," he said quickly, looking away from her.

"Come again, Malfoy?" Hermione said, smiling.

"I could use your company," he repeated, a lot slower.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I have no other choice." She sat down beside him on the couch. "In your first year at Hogwarts, did you ever imagine you would end up getting me, Hermione Granger, to fix your injured wrist and keep you company?"

Draco opened his mouth in protest, but shut it as he gave her question a bit of thought. "Definitely not." He replied.

As the minutes flew by, Hermione and Draco talked by the fireplace, an actual conversation, not just an argument or a string of taunts, but an actual conversation.

"Oh!" Hermione said as she realised the lesson had ended. "It's time for lunch."

"Wouldn't want to be late now, would we?" Draco said, his smirk returning to his face as he stood up from the couch.

"It was your fault anyway!" Hermione called out as he left the room. Teasingly, he stuck out his tongue at her and waved with his un-injured hand as he left the room.

For some reason, Hermione Granger found herself smiling as she watched the door close behind him, a rosy blush creeping upon her cheeks. _Maybe the Slytherin prince isn't so bad after all_ , she thought as she made her way to the Great Hall for lunch.

 **A/N: I had a bit of time this weekend to do a bit of writing, so I thought I might as well finish the chapter I had started working on. I really hope you enjoy this chapter as it's beginning to show another side to Draco, a more vulnerable-ish side. Please review! I really want to know what you guys think about this story. Also, I'm thinking of starting another Dramione fic soon, but I'm not sure on how well I can juggle two different projects at once, so we'll see about that.**

 **Word count: 2581!**


	5. Skele-Gro and the Sunrise

**A/N: Chapter five is out! Sorry for uploading a teensy bit later than usual. I had written this chapter, ready to upload it, however, I wasn't feeling what I wrote so I deleted about half of it. Happy reading!**

 **P.S. A bit of a Dramione moment happens towards the end so buckle up!**

After a long day of Potions, Charms and Herbology, Draco trudged back to his dorm, wrist throbbing painfully. Although it was only the first day of lessons, the seventh-years had already received a horrendous amount of homework. 12 inches of parchment on the effects of the Memory Charm and a labelled hand-drawn diagram of the Whomping Willow. Worst of all, his dominant hand, was injured so Draco found himself struggling to grasp his quill as he attempted to draw a lousy diagram of the Whomping Willow. **[A/N: I'm not sure if Draco's left or right-handed, but we're just going to go with left here, oops.]**

"Having trouble, Malfoy?" his fellow Head student, Hermione, said as she entered their shared dorm. She suppressed a giggle as she watched him struggle to draw with his left hand. She could hardly tell his drawing was supposed to be a Whomping Willow, it looked a lot more like… well, a scribble. "Are you sure you don't want to go get it fixed by Madam Pomfrey?" Draco shook his head stubbornly.

"No way am I letting her see my Dark Mark," he said with a surly expression. "Unless you know a charm to fix broken bones?" Hermione gave his idea a bit of thought, she knew a lot of charms, but she wasn't sure on how to fix broken bones.

"Hang on…" she said, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Professor Lockhart knew one." Draco scoffed.

"Wasn't that the one that got rid of all of Potter's bones in his arm?" he asked, smirking at the memory.

"Yes, but…" Hermione said, "He probably just messed up the pronunciation. I'm sure I could do it, though?"

Draco shook his head furiously. "No way am I having you remove all the bones from my arm," he said. "I like my bones a lot, thank you very much." Hermione laughed. Draco had an inflated ego the size of a hot balloon, he was even boasting about his bones. Watching the brunette laugh, Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing," she said in a sing-song voice as she surveyed Draco's quizzical expression.

"Can I please try the Charm, Malfoy?" Hermione said, attempting to do the puppy-eyes she had seen young Ginny Weasley do a long time ago. Draco gave the idea a bit of thought.

"Well, my wrist is bloody killing me," he said. "Give it your best shot Granger, if this fails, I'm deducting 100 house points from Gryffindor."

"You can't take house points from the Head Girl," she said smugly, crossing her arms in superiority.

"Fine," Draco said. "This better work." He held his arm out gingerly towards her and she pulled her wand out of her robes.

"Brackium Emendo," she said confidently as she pointed her wand towards his wrist and a blue light emitted from his pale arm. Instantly, Draco felt the pain retract. His arm felt fine, too fine, even… He lifted his arm and found his wrist flopping down at a shocking angle.

"Bloody hell, Granger!" he yelled angrily as he watched his sad excuse of a left-arm flop uselessly in front of him. "You got rid of all my bones!" Hermione started giggling hysterically. It was a beautiful sight watching Draco Malfoy attempt to use his bone-less arm. However, she quickly shut her mouth when she saw his furious expression.

"I think we may need to visit the Hospital Wing," she said, trailing off.

"You think?!" he fumed waving his arm wildly in front of him, Hermione laughing wildly again.

"L-Let's go to the Hospital Wing," she said, her cheeks pink from laughter.

"You better be doing the explaining, Granger," he said, his expression resembling a punished child. Side-by-side, the two headed off to the Hospital Wing. Hermione desperately trying to suppress a fit of giggles and Draco glowering in anger.

"Just like Mr Potter," Madam Pomfrey said when she was presented with the sight of Draco's boneless arm causing the Slytherin to scowl. "Who messed up the charm?"

"M-Me, Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said timidly, shocking the Hogwarts' matron.

"Well, I never would've guessed," the matron chuckled. "Brackium Emendo, right, Miss Granger?" Hermione nodded bashfully.

"Well, the Head Boy's definitely staying the night," Madam Pomfrey said as she pulled a white linen over a bed. "He has 33 bones to regrow." She placed a pair of pyjamas on the bed and pulled the cork off a bottle of Skele-Gro. As she poured a liberal amount of the potion into a beaker, it smoked and Draco gulped nervously.

"Once you change into your pyjamas, drink this whole beaker," she instructed. "Here's a warning: it doesn't taste great." Draco pulled the curtain around his bed, shielding him as he changed from Madam Pomfrey and Hermione. It took longer than usual due to his flimsy arm. He folded his robes neatly and placed them on his bedside table.

"Are you still here, Granger?" he asked as he pulled open his curtains gently. He was greeted by the site of her sitting on a chair beside his bed.

"I'm planning on staying overnight whether you like it or not," she said and was already changed in red striped pyjamas, to Draco's surprise. He planned to protest but knew he wouldn't be able to argue against her. After all, she was a Gryffindor.

He picked up the beaker of Skele-Gro and drank it in one swig. It tasted disgusting, even worse than he had imagined. As he swallowed the awful-tasting liquid, his throat burnt horribly.

"That bad?" Hermione asked soothingly as she noticed his grimace.

"Horrible," he confirmed. Madam Pomfrey returned to his bed, this time with two bowls of pumpkin soup and a plate of bread.

"I assume you're staying, Miss Granger, so I brought you two dinner," she said. "The effects of the potion should begin soon." She placed a beaker filled with a purple liquid which they both quickly identified as a Potion of Dreamless Sleep. "When you begin to sleep, take this." She placed another bottle down on the table. "...and this is for pain relief. Trust me, you'll need it." With that, the matron left the pair alone once again.

In silence, they wolfed down their steaming pumpkin soup. They hadn't realised before, but they were both extremely hungry. As soon as they had finished, their bowls and plate instantly disappeared.

"Are you going to sleep now?" Hermione asked as she noticed Draco yawn.

"I don't need sleep," he said as he stifled a yawn eyeing the purple potion.

"What's with you and not needing sleep?" she asked. "Just get some shut-eye for goodness sakes." She picked up the beaker of the Potion of Dreamless Sleep and held it towards him. Hesitantly, he took it. He really was exhausted.

"Just this once," he said and quickly downed the potion. It tasted sweet and delicious in contrast to Skele-Gro. Instantly, he felt his eyelids begin to droop and he let out the yawn he had been stifling. Hermione watched smugly as he relaxed and leaned back into his bed. Soon enough, he fell into a deep, dreamless slumber.

Hermione observed him casually as his chest rose and relaxed with each breath he took. He looked like a child, long fingers curled up under the white bed linens, his knees pulled towards his chest. She noticed how at peace he looked, she had never realised before, but during the day, he had a stiff posture. However, curled up in the bed, he looked almost like a little kitten. A lock of platinum hair sat in front of his face, fluttering softly with each exhale.

She leant out of her chair and gently pushed the hair away from his face. She flinched as he stirred a minuscule amount, but relaxed. After she made sure no one was around, she placed a delicate kiss on the sleeping Slytherin's forehead. She wasn't sure why she did it, maybe because he looked so innocent laying there on the pristine white linens, or maybe it was because of something so much more…

Draco awoke feeling energetic, refreshed and, oddly, happy. His arm felt a lot better, the Skele-Gro had worked and his bones had grown back. He turned to his right and saw Hermione asleep on the chair next to his bed. She didn't look very comfortable, even her small frame was too big to be sleeping comfortably on the little chair.

Careful not to disturb her, he scooped her up in his newly-mended arms and placed her gently on his bed. Just as he was pulling the blanket over her, he heard footsteps approaching him. As he quickly tried to run his fingers through his hair to look mildly presentable, Madam Pomfrey walked in.

"All better, then, Mister. Malfoy?" she asked as she entered.

"Yes, thank you very much," he said sincerely. "I'm going to go now, tell Hermione I left when she wakes up."

"I will, but I think you should stay with her," she said and Draco stopped in his tracks. "She waited beside you the whole night. You should do that same." Draco paused as he looked at the brunette sleeping soundly. "You're choice," the matron added.

"I'll stay," Draco said, returning to his bed and lowering himself into the chair next to Hermione. He leant forward and brushed a curly brown lock out of her freckled face.

"Sleep tight, Granger," he said and placed a kiss on her forehead. He leant back in his chair, but tensed as she began to stir. _Crap,_ he thought frantically, _what was I thinking when I kissed her?_ He tried to look casual as she began to awake. After all, he didn't want to look like some creep who was watching her while she slept. Not that he was doing that…

"Malfoy?" Hermione said groggily, staring at him with one eye, the other one still squeezed shut. "What time is it?" He looked up towards the clock on the wall of the Hospital Wing.

"Around six in the morning," he said. "We're still really early for class." She nodded and began to sit up in bed. As she stretched her arms above her head, she paused.

"How did I get here?" she asked, confused. "I fell asleep in the chair." She was still even wearing her robes, her red and gold tie hanging loosely from her crumpled white shirt.

"I woke up a few minutes ago and thought you looked a bit uncomfortable," he said, trying not to blush. Draco Malfoy didn't blush, especially when it came to Hermione Granger. "So I moved you from this horribly tiny chair to the bed."

"Ohh… okay," Hermione said, rubbing her eye but recoiled as Draco suddenly climbed onto the bed. "Err… Malfoy?"

Ignoring her, he pulled open the long, white curtains of the window behind the bed revealing a gorgeous sunrise.

"Look, Granger," he said, his voice coated with a childish-wonder. Hermione turned around her and gasped at the sight in front of her. A brilliant path of orange light lit up the middle of the lake from the sun, a brilliant ball light peeking from behind the silhouette of the mountain rising slowly towards the orange-blue sky. The two sat in silence on the bed as the sun made its way higher up the cloud-littered sky. Hermione turned to Draco, his pale face illuminated by the orange glow of the sun and the scenery in front of them almost mirrored in his grey eyes.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hermione said, breaking the silence.

"It really is," Draco said softly, climbing off of the bed. "We should get ready for class." Just like that, the moment ended. Just like the sunrise. Hermione sighed softly and climbed off of the bed.

"Let's go back to our dorm," she said and they began to make their way back, still clad in their pyjamas. However, before they could make it back to their dorm, two voices called from behind them.

"HERMIONE GRANGER?" yelled a very confused Ginny Weasley.

"DRACO MALFOY?" cried Blaise Zabini at the site of his fellow Slytherin walking with Hermione Granger, both wearing pyjamas. The Head students spun around to find the two prefects marching towards them, demanding an explanation.

"I knew something was going on between you two!" Ginny said. "I knew it!" Blaise turned to the fellow prefect.

"I knew it as well!" Blaise said. "Wow, Draco, mio amico! **[A/N: I'm pretty sure that means 'my friend' (male) in Italian.]** You've definitely raised your standards since Pansy! Intelligence-wise obviously, not saying that Pansy's dumb. She's smart! Well, not smart, but average! Wait, no…" Blaise trailed off.

"I couldn't say the same for you 'Mione…" Ginny sighed. "Your standards have definitely been lowered since Ron. Wait, just kidding. Ron's a git. Haha."

Hermione and Draco both glowered at their friends. There was definitely a misunderstanding.

"First of all…" Draco began. "We were doing nothing. I hurt my wrist, Hermione removed all the bones in my arm-"

"-by accident," Hermione interrupted.

"We went to the Hospital Wing, I drank a disgusting amount of Skele-Gro," Draco continued, ignoring Hermione's interruption. "I went to sleep, Granger was so upset over my injury so she decided to stay the night next to me-"

"-that's not what happened!" Hermione demanded angrily, and Ginny and Blaise both raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"Then we both woke up, decided to go back to our dorm and here we are," Draco said smoothly. "In this horrible misunderstanding."

"Totally believable, buddy," Blaise said slapping Draco on the back supportively. "Great story. You haven't been this creative since… well, never."

"It's because that's the truth, nitwit," Draco said, frustrated, and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Okay, cool!" Ginny said suddenly, grabbing Blaise by the arm and hauling him off. "See you later 'Mione!" She began furiously whispering to him, no doubt scheming something.

"They're plotting something, aren't they?" Draco asked, turning his attention back to Hermione.

"No doubt," she replied, a smile playing on her lips.

 **A/N: OooOOOooooOOOooooOoo... so Blaise and Ginny think something's going on between the two Head students. Not that we all didn't see that coming. For all you hardcore Dramione-shippers itching for a proper *kiss*, be patient, loves. You can't turn years of hatred into love over night, and I really didn't want to rush their relationship. I was aiming for this to be as natural as possible. Tell me what you thought of this chapter, I really value your opinion! x**

 **Word Count: 2332 (including the random author notes in the story). Sorry this is one of my shorter chapters ):**


	6. A Letter From St Mungo's

**A/N: Yes! Early chapter release. I was going to wait three more days until posting this chapter to trying to keep my schedule, but I thought since I already had the chapter ready, I might as well post it, so hope you all enjoy! Also, welcome my new followers and favourite-ers (?), when ever I see the follow, favourite or review number go up, it puts a smile on my face, so thank you! Also, since I posted the last chapter, my story views have doubled! Wow! Thank you all so much.**

After the awkward encounter with Ginny and Blaise, Hermione and Draco only had stiff, polite interactions. They only talked when they needed to; partners in potions, patrolling at night and only forced questions in their dorms. It was Friday night and Draco was lounging on the plush couch, reading a book for while Hermione sat on the opposite couch practising a nonverbal Charm. The air was laden with a thick cloud of awkwardness and apart from the occasional sounds of Draco turning a page, a discomforting silence filled the room.

They both jumped a minuscule amount as the sound of feathery wings entered the room and they craned their heads to watch an owl swoop into the room. It was the same brown tawny owl Hermione had seen deliver a letter to Draco on the Hogwarts Express, bearing the crest of St. Mungo's, the wizarding world's equivalent of a Muggle hospital. This was the second letter Hermione had seen him receive and she couldn't help but wonder if he was sick. You only received multiple letters from St. Mungo's if you were sick. Very sick. She was wondering how she could approach this situation in a calm, respectful manner, but curiosity really got the better of her.

"Are you sick, Malfoy?" Hermione asked as she watched him tear open the letter, almost in a vicious manner. He looked up at her, slightly surprised to see her talking to him willingly. Not that he liked it.

"It's none of your business," he spat, and Hermione flinched at his sudden aggression.

"Wow, Merlin, sorry," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I was just curious."

"You just think you're entitled to know everything, don't you? You just stick your nose into every damn situation you come across, even when you have no right to intervene." Draco took a deep breath. He knew he had over-reacted, but his Slytherin pride said otherwise.

Hermione balled her fists in anger. "What's wrong with you?" she asked. "I was asking because I _care_." She clapped her hand over her mouth. Since when had she cared for Draco Malfoy?

"You _care_?" Draco hissed. "You hate me. Along with Scar-face and Weasel." He paused for a brief moment, it sounded as if he were trying to convince himself, not her. "Stop acting like a saint, not everyone's pure. Not even the Golden-bloody-Trio."

"Why are you over-reacting, Malfoy?" she cried. "It's like you don't even want people to like you. You have nobody who cares about you. Nobody!" In hindsight, that was a horribly rude thing to say, but it was not as if she had a reason.

"I do have people who care about me," he said, in a scarily quiet voice. "You don't know me, Granger. You think you do, but you really don't." She couldn't argue with that. He was a closed book, with four locks and four keys cast off in each corner of the world. Even his expression represented that, closed-off, almost emotionless.

"How am I supposed to know?" she said, lowering her voice. "You don't tell me anything. How are we going to be Head boy and girl for the rest of this year if we don't know anything about each other? We can't trust each other and every interaction I have with you is either forced or awkward." _Except for the sunrise_ , she thought mid-argument. "Not many people hate you, Draco Malfoy, only yourself." Draco stared at her, his mouth open in shock. He couldn't deny what she was saying. It was true, after all, however, his emotions got the better of him.

"Don't say a word about me, filthy _mudblood_ ," he said angrily. Hermione's chocolate brown eyes filled with tears and she stormed out of the room.

"W-Wait, Granger," Draco called as she ran off, slamming his book shut and chasing after her. He made his way up the stairs, huffing as he tried to catch up to her. _Bloody hell_ , he thought, _she's never this fast._ He had barely made it in front of her room when she had slammed the door shut in his face.

"I'm sorry," he said, lightly tapping on the door, instead of pounding on it desperately like a wounded animal like he was very tempted to do. He was raised to always be a gentleman, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon yet he still sat in front of her door. "You're going to come out eventually, Granger."

"I'd rather starve than see you again, Death Eater," said her voice, slightly muffled, coming from the other side of the door. _That hurt_ , Draco thought sourly, _I deserve it, though._ He stood up and walked away from her door towards his room, turning back to see if she would leave her room, but to his dismay, the door stayed firmly shut.

"House-elf," he said moodily, collapsed on his green and silver bed sheets. A loud crack indicated a house-elf apparating into his room. Draco stared at the wrinkly creature for a moment. He hadn't actually expected it to answer his summon.

"You know the other bedroom in the Head tower?" he asked and the elf nodded obediently.

"When the Head girl inside it goes to the bathroom, could you apparate inside the bedroom and leave a plate of food?"

"Of course, Master," the house-elf said while going into a ridiculously deep bow.

"Thank you," Draco said and the house-elf looked as if it were about to faint from the tiny praise it received. With another loud crack, it disappeared.

Draco pulled out his Herbology book again and began to read. Soon enough, whatever glow the sun provided was gone, replaced with a cool light from the moon. It was getting late and Draco assumed Hermione would've had dinner already. It was time for phase two. His least favourite.

He could tell where she was coming from, as in how they knew very little about each other and they had despised each other for years. No way were they going to work well together as Head students for the rest of the year at the rate they were going. Sure she helped him with his broken wrist and he pulled her out of the lake (it wasn't like he was just going to let her drown), they still were on bad terms with each other. Not that he was surprised.

He crept towards her room, not in a creepy way, of course, to make sure he didn't provide any indication that he was approaching her door. He pulled out the already-opened letter he had received that day.

It was a letter from St. Mungo's. After his wretched father had been imprisoned, his mother had fell into a state of despair. Although Lucius Malfoy was a cowardly git, Draco's mother still loved him and that love ruined her. Magic could cure many things, but even an expensive supply of Elixir to Induce Euphoria could only do so much. It hurt Draco to see his once composed, caring mother in such a state of despair that reduced her to childish side effects caused by the prescribed potion. In between lapses of the elixir, she would return to her normal, heart-broken self. Demanding Draco to let her see Lucius, but he refused. He wouldn't let his father hurt his family again.

He took a sharp intake of breath and slid the letter under the door. He had to make Hermione understand why he had been in such a sour mood. On the other side of the door, Hermione was practising the same nonverbal charm she had been practising before her argument with Draco. However, her practice was disrupted by a sound near the door.

She looked down to find a piece of parchment. "I don't want an apology letter, stupid git," she said, still furious from their argument.

"It isn't an apology letter," he said lamely. "Flip it over."

Hermione approached the letter and carefully flipped it over. Although it had already been opened, she could recognise the seal on the letter. It was from St. Mungo's.

"It's the letter you received earlier," she gasped.

"Indeed," he said. "Please read it. Normally I wouldn't let anyone know about this, but I want you to understand why I've been in such a rotten mood, and I-I trust you, Granger." She clapped her hand over her mouth. She would've never expected Draco Malfoy to trust her, and vice-versa.

"T-Thank you," she said and began to read the letter slowly.

The letter described Narcissa Malfoy's declining mental health. She could understand why he had been so sour. Yes, he had been a Death Eater, but right now he was just a child. A child scared of losing his mother. She scanned further down the letter and it included a number of appointments in which he would have to attend. It seemed like a lot of responsibility for someone of his age. Possibly even too much.

"I'm sorry for prying," Hermione said finally after reading the letter. "Your business is your own."

"You have nothing to apologise for, Granger," he said solemnly. "Can you open the door? I have something I would like to say to you." Hermione's breath hitched. A million ideas swarmed her head of what he would like to say.

She heard him chuckle softly. "Stop overthinking things. I would like to deliver a formal apology to you." She let out a breath she hadn't realised she had been holding and opened the door carefully.

There stood the Slytherin Prince. Hands in pockets smiling sheepishly, dressed in green and silver striped pyjamas that looked slightly Muggle-ish.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I shouldn't have insulted you based on your blood. My childhood was surrounded with so many prejudices about status, blood-type and wealth. Of course, me being the arrogant person I was, I believed it all. Every single bit. However, after I became a Death Eater my perspective changed. My first battle, even though it was very minor, I saw the most blood I had ever seen in my life, but that wasn't what I noticed. It was the colour. Everyone's blood was red. Pureblood, half-blood or Muggle-born, they all bled the same colour. They all had the same magical capabilities as each other, and you, Granger, are a bloody brilliant witch. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, especially me." He took a deep inhalation after speaking, he did have a lot to say.

Although receiving a heartfelt speech from Draco Malfoy was certainly out of the ordinary, Hermione felt tears welling in her eyes. She wasn't sure why. Maybe because that was one of the nicest things Draco, or possibly anyone, had ever said to her, or maybe it was the fact that he had opened up to her. The boy in front of him was far from the snobbish, arrogant Slytherin she had met in her first year.

"Thank you, Malfoy," she said. He looked shocked by the sudden rush of her tears, but looked please nonetheless. Crying women had always made Draco uncomfortable. In fact, emotions, in general, had always made Draco uncomfortable. Awkwardly, he held out his arms towards the weeping girl, offering a comforting hug. She walked timidly towards him.

"I don't bite," he said jokingly and she let out a watery laugh. His strong, comforting arms wrapped around her small frame as she gripped the back of his pyjamas, tears wetting the front of his shirt. After things had ended with Ron, she hadn't realised how much she had missed having someone there for her. Although she had Harry and Ginny, it wasn't quite the same.

"Draco," he said. "It's Draco."

Hermione pulled out of their short embrace and looked at him, confused.

"You can call me Draco," he said. "Malfoy just doesn't seem right anymore." _Malfoy is what my enemies call me, or strangers_ , he thought, _I don't know where I stand with Hermione Granger, but we're certainly not enemies anymore._

Jokingly, she held out her hand towards him. "Nice to meet you, Draco," she said shaking his hand. "I'm Hermione. Just Hermione," and they both laughed. It felt good to laugh with someone, but she didn't expect it to be Draco.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now," Draco said when they both become quiet once again. "Have a good night, Grang- Hermione." Her name felt unfamiliar coming out of his mouth. He had always called her 'Granger' or some other foul term until now. 'Hermione' sounded delicate, feminine. He gave her a casual wave over his shoulder as he departed from the front of her door and headed back to his room.

"Wait, Draco," Hermione said and Draco paused, foot poised over a step. "Is your mother going to be okay?"

Draco sighed and ran a hand through platinum hair. "I don't know," he said wearily. "I really don't know, and that's what scares me." Hermione nodded at his reply. She wanted to go to him again, tell him everything would be okay, but she wasn't sure.

"Goodnight." She watched him as he retreated into his room, giving him one last look before she closed the door of her room.

That night, as Hermione Granger laid in her bed, she felt a smile creep across her mouth. An odd wave of serenity washed over her. She fell asleep that night feeling at peace, and most of all, happy.

When she had dozed off, she dreamt of being in a meadow, long soft blades of lush green grass ticked her sides as she ambled across the field, marvelling at the dotting of yellow marigolds. The golden sun beamed down on the field, producing a golden glow. It was a good dream. Except, there was one thing she couldn't put a finger on. Across the meadow was a tall male figure. However, every time she tried to approach him, a force kept her away and she tried so, so hard to fight it.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter (: It was going to be longer, but I want to keep all my chapters in the 2000s in terms of word count so I can update as often as possible (once/twice a week). In the next chapter, it will be Hermione's birthday and I'm thinking of a little bit of fluffy between the two, but I don't want to hype it up too much because they've only just started being friendly with each other and I want to keep this as natural as possible. Psst... remember to favourite, follow or even just say 'hi' in the reviews. I'd like to know what you all think of my story (-:**

 **Word Count: 2331**


	7. Birthday Girl

**A/N: Two chapters out in a week! I was quite excited to write this chapter so I got straight on it. Sorry if there's a few mistakes here and there, I was too excited to post it. Please review and tell me if there's any mistakes, it really helps! If anyone's confused about certain aspects of this chapter, please read the author's note at the end. I clear up a few things that might be necessary. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did! (Warning: Incoming fluff!)**

After a tiresome week of classes, the weekend had finally arrived, and that meant there was a Hogsmeade trip. It was a bittersweet idea for Hermione. Bitter as in she wouldn't be able to go with her two best friends, yet sweet because, well, butterbeer and Zonko's. She was to meet Ginny at the front of the school, before exploring Hogsmeade together. Even the thought of downing a warm butterbeer warmed Hermione inside. Although it was only Autumn, the weather was still much too chilly for her liking. However, that wasn't what excited her the most. Today was her birthday. It saddened her to think she would be celebrating without her two best friends, but she had Ginny and after all, it wasn't every day you would age a year older.

When she awoke, she had expected a large pile of presents sitting on the foot of her bed, as she received every year, but she only found a small box sitting on her red quilt cover which was from her parents. Although she was happy to receive a gift from her parents, she would've at least expected one from her friends.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her usually out-of-control brown locks were now (due to the help of a Charm Ginny had a taught her) perfect curls, framing her freckled face. She wore her favourite set of winter robes; long, pale and a gorgeous lilac colour, the fabric hanging loosely off of her petite frame, yet still accentuate the little curves she had. Hermione only wore this robe on special occasions, and her birthday seemed fitting.

She decided to skip eating breakfast, determined to stuff herself with Zonko's sweets, birthday cake and butterbeer instead. She walked down the stairs slowly, careful not to trip on her hazardously-long robes. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she was met with the sight of Blaise Zabini, sprawled across her favourite couch next to the fireplace.

"Hey, Granger!" he said, with a wink. "It's your birthday, right? Draco's mentioned it maybe once, twice or-"

" _Silencio_ ," Draco Malfoy's voice said confidently, coming from behind Hermione. "Sorry, Hermione. Blaise is being an annoying git. As usual." He walked past her and slapped his friend, who was rapidly cursing (silently) in Italian, on the back jokingly.

"Let's go, Blaise," Draco said casually, turning over his shoulder to his silent friend. Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the Blaise, silently cursing Draco.

"Fine," Blaise finally said, the Silencing charm had appeared to have worn off already. "But Hermione and I were have a great conversation, weren't we?" He looked at her, his dark caramel coloured eyes looking at her pleadingly. Hermione shrugged awkwardly.

"Well," she said. "I'd better get going. Ginny's waited for me." She left the room in a hurry, slightly weirded-out by Blaise, but who wouldn't be?

"Dra-kie's got a cru-ush," Blaise said in a sing-song voice, the moment Hermione left the room. At the use of the pet name Blaise had given him, Draco leant towards his friend and gave him a hard punch on the shoulder.

"Ouchies, Drakie," Blaise said, rubbing his shoulder. "That hurt."

"Good," Draco said coldly. "Let's go, Zabini." He left the dorm, Blaise trailing behind happily singing 'Drakie's got a crush', over and over again until Draco silenced him with another Charm.

"Ginny!" Hermione called, when she spotted her friend amongst the crowd of students waiting to depart to Hogwarts.

"Hermione!" Ginny squealed as she made her way towards the birthday girl. "Happy birthday!" She pulled her into a tight hug.

"Gi-Ginny," Hermione choked out as she was enveloped in Ginny's arms. "C-Can't breathe." Ginny released her friend from her deadly embrace and instead clasped her hand in her own.

"Let's go," she said happily, as they walked (Ginny half-skipping as she pulled Hermione along) to Hogsmeade.

When they arrived, a wave of happiness washed over Hermione. It had been so long since she had visited Hogsmeade and the sight of the bustling street, colourful stores and the smell of hearty food wafting through the air comforted her. She turned to Ginny and instantly knew they were thinking the same thing –

"Butterbeer!" they said, and giggled. Hermione almost drooled at the thought of drinking the warm, sweet beverage from a foaming tankard. Without a word said, they both headed towards the Three Broomsticks. A pub owned by Madam Rosmerta, popular amongst Hogwarts students and Hogsmeade residents. The only downside was that it was always packed with crowds, all dying to try Madam Rosmerta's famous blend of the butterscotch-flavoured beverage.

However, Hermione's spirits dimmed when she found a sign tacked to the front of the pub's door. She was met with the word 'closed' painted boldly across the wooden.

"What?" she said, clearly confused. "It's never closed at this time." Ginny shrugged, but she seemed relatively unperturbed.

"Maybe she just messed up the sign?" she said. "Let's just go inside." She pushed the door open with ease and held the door open for Hermione.

"You first, birthday girl." Hermione smiled and went it, still baffled over why the door was left open. She stepped inside and gasped. The wooden walls were draped with bright-coloured streamers and a banner saying 'Happy Birthday, Hermione!' hung from the roof. However, the room, apart from herself and Ginny, was seemingly empty. She stepped further inside and wove between the wooden tables.

"SURPRISE!" Hermione jumped in shocked and turned around, towards the direction in which the voices came from. There, behind her, were her two best friends, Harry and Ron, the Weasley family, and many other familiar faces.

"Guys…" Hermione said, trailing off as her brown eyes watered with happy tears.

"Oh, bloody hell, Hermione," Ron said, stepping towards her along with Harry. "Don't get all emotional now." Hermione wiped her tears out of her eyes and held her arms out towards her two best friends. Without any hesitation, they walked right into her hug and were enveloped in her arms.

"I've missed you both so much," she said after they finally pulled away from each other. "How have you two been?"

"I've started my Auror training already," Harry said with a grin, his arm slung around Ginny who had appeared at his side. "I love every moment of my day, it's amazing. Except, I miss my two favourite girls." He looked down at Ginny with an affectionate gaze as she planted a kiss on his cheek. Next to them, Ron mock-gagged at the happy couple and Hermione giggled at his everlasting lack of maturity.

"I've been travelling," Ron said happily, handing warm mugs of butterbeer to them. "Every day is like my own little adventure. Waking up to gorgeous sunsets, eating the most bloody delicious food-" Hermione snorted, he hadn't changed a bit. "- and I met someone." His cheeks turned bright red.

"Met someone?" Hermione asked. Even though she and Ron were once a couple, she didn't feel the teensiest bit awkward discussing his love life. After all, a failed relationship couldn't ruin years of friendship between them.

"I-I'll be back," Ron stammered and disappeared into the crowd, clearly searching for someone.

"He met someone?" Hermione asked, quirking up the corner of an eyebrow in a very Draco-like manner.

"Some girl he met in France," Harry said. "I think she went to Beauxbatons, he's absolutely smitten." He added with a smirk.

"Hermione! Harry!" Ron called as he approached, a woman on his arm. "This is my girlfriend Poppy. Poppy Francoeur." Hermione surveyed the tall woman in front of her. She was gorgeous. Flowing locks of long, straight dirty-blonde hair, brown eyes with rivers of gold and a golden sun-kissed skin (which Hermione very much envied, seeing that it was almost winter.

"Pleasure to meet you," Poppy said, extending an arm towards Hermione politely. "Ron's told me a lot about you." Hermione shot Ron a dangerous look. "All good things, of course."

Hermione initially felt irritated that Ron had invited his new girlfriend to her birthday surprise, but she her negative feelings disappeared as quickly as the butterbeer in her mug as soon as she began to chat with Poppy. They had a brief, yet very intellectual conversation that Hermione thoroughly enjoyed. She hadn't expected to like her very much, she had sensed a faint air of contempt when she was introduced, however, she was certainly proven wrong.

For the next few hours, Hermione roamed around the pub, greeting all the partygoers ranging from Mrs Weasley, Fleur and Bill Weasley, and even Andromeda Tonks carrying a bawling Teddy Lupin. She glanced down at her watch and her heart sank. It was time to go. She looked around the room wistfully at the happy atmosphere, loving Weasley family and her friends chatting merrily. She really didn't want to leave, but she had to. Hogwarts students had a curfew while out at Hogsmeade. Hermione weaved through the crowd towards her best friends.

"Harry, Ron," she said, emerging from behind them. "I have to go now." She gave them a sad smile which they both returned and they gave each other a tight hug.

"See you soon?" Harry asked sadly as Hermione clasped Ginny's hand and began to pull her away from the crowd. She wasn't sure whether he was talking to her or his girlfriend, but she nodded and waved over her shoulder as she left.

"Want me to carry the presents?" Ginny asked, peering at the towering stack of present Hermione had received.

"Definitely not," Hermione said firmly. "That stack of presents ought to crush you." They both looked at each other for a moment and laughed.

"What are we saying?" Ginny said. "We're witches." They both pulled their wands out of their robes and said the incantation ' _locomoter'_. Slowly and carefully, the two witches made their way back to Hogwarts, levitating the presents in front of them.

Hermione just about collapsed when she had made it back to the Head common room. The sheer effort it took to levitate the presents felt mentally draining. She pulled off the outer coat on her robes and placed it lazily on the couch's arm. The sound of the opening of the door announced Draco's arrival.

"That's quite the stack of presents you have there, birthday girl," he said nonchalantly, sitting down on the couch opposite her.

"Tell me about it," she said tiredly. "This is too much. A couple of new quills and books would've sufficed." Draco turned to her, clearly shocked.

"It's the one day of the year that's _your_ day ( _That's not true_ , Hermione thought, _around 19 million people share my birth date)_ ," he began. "I know what you're thinking, Hermione, but it's your special day. Let loose. Have fun. You never know what might happen if you let your hair down once in a while." Hermione combed her fingers through her tight ponytail self-consciously.

"What would you know about having fun?" Hermione asked, slightly irritated. "Also, your hair is always gelled-back with a pound of hair gel." Draco scoffed, offended at her dig at him.

"Challenge accepted," he said confidently. He pointed his wand at the flower pot on the table and transfigured it into phonograph with an outrageously large golden horn. Slow, ballroom music began to echo around the room. One by one, Draco flicked his wand towards each couch until they were all pushed into a corner, forming an empty space in the middle of the common room. He strode towards the centre of the makeshift dance floor and, with another flick of his wand, turned his casual robes into a sleek pair of dress robes in his signature colour of choice, black.

"May I have this dance, Hermione Granger?" he asked formally, extending his hand towards her. Hesitantly, she walked towards him, taking small, timid steps. She pulled her wand out of her robes' pocket and her casual robes suddenly became a shimmery, silver dress with a flattering sweetheart-neckline.

She couldn't help but notice how handsome Draco looked. As much as she hated to admit it, his platinum blonde hair almost shone in the moonlight and his fitted dress robes made his figure look even taller than usual, and complimented him quite nicely. The moonlight seemed to accentuate his every feature. His grey eyes appeared silver, and Hermione became lost in them.

"Pixie got your tongue?" Draco said and Hermione snapped out of a trance. She felt foolish admiring the person in front of her when Draco only saw her as a lowly Muggle-born.

Before he had spoke, Draco had marvelled at Hermione's beauty. Her silver dress hugged her every curve, and he hadn't noticed until now how gorgeous the freckles across her face were. He had stared back at her rich chocolate brown eyes, just like she had done to him.

She placed her hand onto his, and, gently, he closed his hand around hers.

"Can you dance?" he asked with a questioning gaze.

"If you count avoiding on stepping on Viktor Krum's feet during the Yule Ball?" she replied and they laughed.

"I can lead," he said and suddenly felt thankful for the endless etiquette lessons he had received as an over-privileged, pure-blood child. He pulled her into a simple waltz and watching her, eyebrows furrowed, concentrating on mirroring his steps.

"Let loose, Hermione," he said. "Isn't that what you said to me?" Jokingly, he tapped his wand on his head and the hair instantly appeared rid of the layer of gel he had applied in the morning.

"I'll take the lead now, thank you very much," Hermione said confidently, pulling her hair out of its ponytail. She pulled him around, and around the room as he occasionally spun her around. As they went around over and over again, she began to feel dizzy. When he spun her again, she lost balance, falling into him.

"I-I feel a bit dizzy," she said breathlessly, sagged against him. Draco laughed as he held the weight of her with his arms.

"How about we stop?" he said, equally as breathless. "Even Quidditch is less tiring than this. Dancing, I mean." They both collapsed onto either end of a couch sitting in the corner of the room.

"I had fun today," Hermione said as she looked at Draco sprawled on the other end of the couch, his tie now hanging loosely from his neck.

"Your surprise party was that fun, was it?" he asked gruffly.

"How did you know about that?" she asked, curious.

"It was all anyone in Hogsmeade could talk about," he said. "I was trying to look at a few brooms today, but this one lady kept asking me if I knew a 'Hermione Grant' and if I could get her an invite to her party." Hermione giggled.

"I didn't have fun just at the party," Hermione added. "I had fun with you. Dancing. I should do it more often. I'm a natural."

Draco scoffed. "You stepped on my toes more times than you thought, Hermione," he said, amused by her confidence. He turned to her and looked at her beginning to nod off, dress and all, on the couch.

"Happy birthday, Hermione Granger," he said, before falling asleep himself.

 **A/N: So, there's a few things I would like to clear up. These points are of my own little creation and are a part of this story that are not featured in the original Harry Potter.**

 **a) Blaise Zabini's bubbly personality is due to the death of his mother. Although, yes, Blaise loved his mother very much, her constant frolicking around caused Blaise's distaste for relationships of any way, shape or form. His mother died due after accidentally poisoning herself, the poison which she had laced in a meal which was intended for her most recent husband. After his mother passed away, Blaise was sad, but this led to the blossoming of a whole new perspective on life and a major personality change. Also, I felt the need for Draco to have a quirky friend whose personality would have a big contrast from his own and I have read many fics were Blaise acts quite 'quirky'. I thought it was fitting for Draco and Blaise to be close, because I always felt that Draco needed someone other than his mindless cronies (Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy).**

 **b) Post Deathly Hallows (pretend the epilogue never happened!), Ron and Hermione went out for a bit, but ultimately decided they were better off as friends. Their relationship felt awkward, forced and just not what they were looking for so they split on amical terms. They are still close friends. Also, this paves way for a future relationship for Hermione (*wink wink*) and removes any weird toxic masculinity/jealousy between Draco and Ron.**

 **Hope you understand why I've made these changes to the story! Please review! It really makes my day. I received my second review the other day while I was in class and it really just put an enormous smile on my face. Seriously, it was an infectious sort of happiness from just one review. (-:**

 **Word Count: 2538, bit longer than the most recent one!**


	8. Mamma Mia!

**A/N: Sorry for the late-ish release. I've been a bit stressed-out and I had a minor case of writer's block over where to go from the last chapter. I sincerely hope I'm not rushing things between Hermione and Draco, that was one of my concerns when writing this story. Also, I have really planned out the plot of this fic. I'm just seeing where my creative juices take me. (Also, if any of you are confused by phrases Blaise uses, check out the A/N at the end). Enjoy!**

Hermione Granger awoke during the early hours of the day, sunlight streaming through the curtains. Her back throbbed and she rubbed it gingerly as she sat up from her uncomfortable position. After collapsing on the bundle of couches last night, she found herself laying on two couches, curled up in the fetal position, Draco Malfoy sprawled across from her.

She observed the sleeping Head boy next to her. He was still wearing his black dress robes in the other night and his body rested on the top of the catch as if he were a cat on top of a fence. His position seemed awfully uncomfortable, but he appeared to be sleeping soundly.

As she watched his chest rising and falling evenly, she couldn't help but crawl over and run her fingers through his blonde hair. It was soft, like a bunny, and remarkably shiny. She would be tempted to ask him for his hair-care routine, but he still was Draco Malfoy. She giggled at the thought of asking Draco Malfoy for his hair care routine. Things really had changed.

"What's so funny?" Draco murmured groggily, suddenly awoken by Hermione's quiet giggling. Her hand froze, poised above his platinum locks, and she quickly pulled it back towards her chest.

"Nothing," Hermione said sheepishly. "Good morning." She glanced up at the brass clock. "Well, good afternoon, actually." Draco yawned loudly, lifting his arms above his head before dropping them back down over his face and turning over.

"Afternoon?" Draco said, shielding his eyes from the sunlight with his hand. "Merlin, that's way too early." Hermione grabbed his wrists and pulled his arms away from him, he groaned as he squinted his eyes at the sudden burst of light.

"Get up, ferret," she said firmly, releasing his wrists. "We have to fix up the room. You moved the furniture everywhere, and don't get me started on the phonograph. I have no idea how you transfigured that. Amazing…"

Draco gaped at her exaggeratedly. "Did the Hermione Granger just give me a compliment?" he gasped, placing a hand on his chest theatrically. Hermione giggled as she watched him dramatically sigh.

"Isn't it funny?" she said finally, as their conversation quietened down.

"What?" Draco said, pulling his focus away from his theatrics and towards Hermione. "My horrible acting?"

"Yes, but…" Hermione said, sighing. "You're Draco-pureblood-Malfoy, and I'm Hermione Granger the filthy little mudblood." She found herself retelling Draco's hurtful taunts and felt her chest tighten with guilt as she watched his face adapt a dejected expression. "We're supposed to hate each other. It's in our blood, in your family traditions, in the prejudice still existing in this world. However, Draco Malfoy, why don't I hate you?" She stared back into his grey eyes, searching for an answer.

He was tempted to spit out a cocky reply. Something about his 'irresistible charm' or 'dashing good looks', but he bit his tongue as he looked at her pleading brown eyes. That's when it hit him.

He, Draco Malfoy, ex-Death Eater, Slytherin, pureblood, was in love with Hermione Granger. The very same Hermione Granger he had taunted, the one who had defeated Voldemort, the know-it-all. Years ago, he would've gagged at the thought of anyone being in love with Hermione Granger, but as he sat across from her, he certainly didn't feel disgusted. This almost scared him. Not Hermione, but love. He hadn't felt love for a long time. Certainly not from his strict father or his certifiably insane aunt, and this new feeling scared him.

Leaning forward, he pulled her wrist towards him, ignoring her visible flinch, he pulled up her sleeve to reveal the word 'mudblood' across her skin.

"This," he said, gesturing to her scar, "does not define who you are. Your blood does not define who you are." She gave him a pointed look. "I stopped believing in that kind of stuff a long time ago. And this," he pulled up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. "I stopped letting this define who I am as a person a long time ago. Sure, people still look at me and think 'oh, he's a Death Eater and a murderer', but I don't let other people's words and their labels define who I am." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair as if that speech sapped all of his energy.

"Draco, I-" Hermione's words were soon interrupted by Draco planting his lips on hers. She froze, shocked by his actions, but soon wrapped her arms around his neck and climbed onto his lap. Their kiss was tender but ending all too soon as he pushed her off of his lap.

"Hermione, sorry," he spluttered, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "I shouldn't have done that. It was a mistake, I'm sorry. Can we just pretend that didn't happen?"

Hermione stared at him furiously, at a loss for words. "So just decided to kiss me, and now you're apologising?" she shrieked furiously, waiting for a reply. When it became clear he wasn't going to explain or at least utter a single word, she stood up and stormed out of the room, tears streaming down her rosy cheeks. She headed to the first place she could think of, the Gryffindor common room, to find Ginny. She remembered the password from the last time she had visited Ginny and pushed the portrait open, ignoring the fat lady's cheerful greeting.

She found her friend curled up on a cosy red armchair, book held in her hands.

"Herm-" Ginny began, but quickly closed her mouth at the sight of the Head girl's tears. "What's wrong?" She sat up from her armchair and relocated herself into a loveseat, pulling Hermione into it.

"Dr-Draco Malfoy kissed me," Hermione sniffed, wiping her tears with her already saturated sleeve.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Ginny asked softly, a feeling of excitement blooming within her. Hermione nodded, but tears still fell from her brown eyes.

"But then he pushed me away," she said finally. "I don't know why. He just had a whole speech about how blood doesn't matter, and how he's changed, then he kissed me, but pulled away." Hermione sniffled and Ginny muttered 'ruddy bastard' under hear breath, swearing to hex Draco Malfoy the next time she saw him.

Ginny always had something to say, or a solution to anyone's worries, but as Hermione sniffled, she wondering desperately what was wrong with Draco Malfoy. She was sure that he liked Hermione, because the feeling was certainly mutual, the initiation of the kiss certainly said so, but now she wasn't sure of what to think of this mess.

Sighing, Ginny could only think of one solution.

"Cake and ice cream?" Ginny said, grimacing.

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was running around the Slytherin common room like a headless chicken.

"Zabini! You gi-" he narrowly dodged a curse that flew over his head as his friend, Blaise Zabini, chased him around the room, wand in hand.

"I can't believe-" he casted a full body-bind curse "- you would be stupid enough-" he casted a hair loss curse "-to pull away from the kiss!" Blaise yelled the last phrase as he collapsed on a green loveseat next to him.

"Mamma mia, Draco…" Blaise muttered, placing his fingers on his shaking head. "You fool, of course, she likes you! Now she's going to think that you don't even like her anymore."

"But I don't," Draco said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest as if he were a child being scolded.

"Why did you kiss her?" Blaise said smugly, leaning back into the couch, palms held behind his head lazily.

"Because…" Draco mumbled.

"Be-cause," Blaise replied mockingly, in a sing-song voice. "You like her Draco! Admit it!"

Draco glared his friend, posture rigid, before slumping onto the couch beside him in defeat.

"Y-You're right," Draco said, choking on his mild-praise for Blaise. "I like her, but I've screwed things up with her. It's over."

"Oh, shut up," Blaise said pulling Draco upwards and pushing him out of the dungeon door. "Uffa! It's not too late. You're coming with me!"

"Lead the way…" Draco said grumpily, yanking his hand out of Blaise's.

His over-eager friend pulled him into what he recognised as an empty broom closet. Wide spiders webs stretched across the top of the room and the dusty Cleansweep Ones bundled in the corner looked as if the hadn't been touched in decades. At the dust-filled air, Draco coughed, covering his mouth with his sleeve.

"Wait here, Draco," Blaise said.

"Zabi-" the door slammed shut mid-way through Draco's complaint and, knowing his friend's relentless stubbornness, Draco crouched in the middle of the dimly-lit closet, awaiting his return.

After a few minutes had passed, Draco heard the door creak open slowly.

"Blaise, you git. You better tell me what's going on," Draco said furiously. "You trap me in a closet, for what reason? Just open the damn- oh." There stood Hermione. Eyes rimmed with the slightest amount of red. With a hint of embarrassment, he noticed that they were both still in their dress robes. Blaise drove Draco nuts, but at that moment he wanted to give his friend a big fat hug, and a slab of Honeyduke's chocolate.

"Hermione, I can explain," Draco said nervously, spinning his wand with his hand.

"You better," she snapped. Her anger taking Draco aback my surprise.

"I'm sorry I pushed you away," he said, struggling to enunciate his emotions. After all, the Malfoys had always struggled with any emotions besides arrogance and hatred. "I-I like you, Hermione Granger. I really do."

His confession caused Hermione's expression to soften, but her posture remained stiffed, arms crossed over her chest angrily.

"Then why did you push me away, Draco?" she said quietly.

"It's because I don't want to hurt you," he replied.

"Well, you hurt me by pushing me away. At least have the guts to tell me how you feel." Draco sighed, flustered.

"If I pushed you away now. Yes, it would hurt, but you would move on. However, if we ever were to stay together, people would destroy you," he glanced at Hermione's furious expression but continued. "How do you think people would react to Harry Potter's best friend being with me, ex-Death Eater?"

"I thought you didn't care about other people's opinions?" she said firmly, standing her ground. "You told me that before."

"As much as I like to say how I remain unaffected by other people's words, I would be lying," he yanked up his sleeve frustrated and gestured at his Dark Mark. "I hate this. I hate everything I've done and every time I've hurt somebody. This will be with me forever. That can never change. It's who I am. If we ever were to be together, I can't have you carry this-" he glanced down at his arm, bile rising up his throat. "-burden. It's not yours." He looked at her, his grey eyes pleading for understanding.

"Draco Malfoy, you are a bloody git," she said furiously, and he reeled back as if she had slapped him in the face. "I don't care about your Dark Mark! If I did, I wouldn't have kissed you back. I know how people would react to me and you being together. I see it in Ginny. Her brother was killed by a Death Eater, yet she still eggs me on to be with you." Draco winced at the mention of the Weasley twin's death. "The longer we dwell on the past, the less we forgive. Draco, you don't let anyone forgive you. It's as if you want to be hated. I'm willing to take any heat that comes with being together with you, but why aren't you?" Draco felt a need to protect Hermione, but he couldn't tell her. He knew that would make her livid, the thought of being protected.

"We don't need a label," she said. "Draco, I just want you to be with me."

"Okay," he said quiet, tilting his head upwards to return her look.

"Okay," she said, leaning forward, placing her arms over his shoulders. She placed her lips gently on his and felt his arms snake around her waist. A feeling of euphoria washed over Draco as he held her and returned her soft kiss.

"WHAT IN MERLIN'S BEARD," cried a female voice from behind them. They jumped apart quickly, Hermione hitting her head against the wall, and Draco toppling over in the pile of Cleansweeps. There stood Madam Hooch. Her yellow eyes narrowed at the Head boy and girl standing at opposite corners of the room. "Malfoy. Granger." She said acknowledging them before, grabbing a bottle of Broom Wax and hurrying out of the room.

"Oh. Merlin." Hermione said slowly after Madam Hooch had left, rubbing her sore head.

"Don't overthink it, Hermione," Draco said, before wrapping his arms around her waist again, earning a giggle from the Head girl. "What's the worst that could happen?"

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry again for the late release. I apologise if any of the kissing scenes were a bit awkward. Writing romantic scenes have never been by strong point, oops. Here are the meanings of some Italian phrases Blaise uses. Sorry to any Italian-speakers if I messed them up, I can't speak Italian at all.**

 ** _Mamma mia_** **(here we go again!) = '** **to express surprise, impatience, happiness or sorrow. The figurative translation is similar too "My goodness!".'**

 ** _Uffa =_** **'** **to express annoyance, boredom, anger, or when you're fed up with a situation. In English, you'd probably express the same by exhaling in exasperation.'**

 **I got these translations off of a travelling blog called 'the Intrepid Guide' (:**

 **Word Count: 2161 (short-ish, sorry!)**


	9. A Broken Heart

**A/N: Chapter nine is finally out! Sorry for the wait. I really wasn't feeling up to writing so this came out forced because I had started writing another Dramione story and I had finished the first chapter, but my Internet browser crashed and I lost** **everything** **. This was really disheartening so I wasn't feeling up to writing, but I forced myself to get on with this chapter so here it is. It really isn't my best work, but I hope you enjoy. Something big happens!**

To Draco's dismay, the weekend had ended all too soon and he found himself sitting in the Potions classroom on a Monday morning, his friend, Blaise, chattering merrily next to him.

"Blaise…" Draco sighed, rubbing his weary eyes. "It's far too early in the morning to be talking _that_ much. I don't know how you do it." He placed his head on his arms on the table, stifling a yawn.

"Did you have a fun night, Drakey?" Blaise said, with a wink, before easily dodging Draco's lazy punch aimed at his shoulder. Draco sat back up and pulled his quill out of his bag. Quill in hand, frozen, at the sight of the sudden presence of the Head girl. Soon after Madam Hooch had left the two, they had decided that it was wise to leave in case someone else came. When they had reached their dorm, they had parted separate ways and he had woken up earlier than her, which was a surprise. It felt odd seeing her so casually, but a soft feeling of elation washed over him.

However, as he watched Hermione settle down into a stool, Minerva McGonagall walked in, ducking under the doorframe in order to avoid knocking over her towering hat.

"Could I speak to the Head boy and girl in my office, Margot?" the Headmistress said, her face contorted into a stern expression. Professor Margot looked up from her parchment, giving her aunt a warm smile and nodded in reply.

"Certainly," Professor Margot said, gesturing towards Draco and Hermione to exit the dungeon. As Draco stood up from his desk, he heard Blaise whisper to him.

"Trouble in paradise," Blaise said, in a mock-frightened tone. He leant across towards the Gryffindor table and turned to Ginny. "Hooch busted them yesterday in the closet. They're so screwed."

"Oh, Merlin. Poor Hermione," Ginny said at the same time at the same time Blaise began to make goofy faces at a clearly embarrassed Draco.

"Hah. He just flipped the bird at me." Blaise muttered, turning back to the front of the class. "What a dimwit."

Meanwhile, Hermione was nervous. Really nervous. Even Draco, who clearly wasn't a master at emotions, could tell. He wouldn't thought she would be okay with a detention here and there due to her friendship with Harry and Ron, hell, he thought she would've been used to them.

"Did Madame Hooch tell?" Hermione whispered furiously to Draco who shrugged nonchalantly. "How are you so calm?"

Draco almost burst out laughing at the sight of Hermione, who appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown, while he remained calm and collected. "Why are you so nervous?" he replied simply, adjusting his green and silver scarf around his neck.

"We could lose our badge," she said, almost hysterically, clutching her red and gold badge. "What is the Headmistress found out we we-were…" she paused, at a loss for words.

"Canoodling?" Draco finished, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Well, yes." Hermione said and Draco opened his mouth to reply, but felt a sharp nudge at his side when he realised they were facing the gargoyle that stood at the entrance of the office.

"Caramel cobwebs," the Headmistress said firmly. It somehow warmed Hermione's heart to see that McGonagall had kept Dumbledore's tradition of making the password a sweet.

"Follow me," McGonagall said curtly and the two Head students followed the Headmistress up the spiral stone stairs. Draco was tempted to laugh at Hermione's distressed state, but when he saw how genuinely worried she was at losing her privilege as Head girl, he gave her a small smile. If he was any other guy, Hermione wouldn't have felt any better, but a smile from Draco Malfoy was rare and she blushed.

With a swish of her wand, McGonagall pulled two chairs out from her desk. "Have a seat Miss. Granger and Mr. Malfoy," she said with a small nod. Hermione bit her lip from spilling out a wave of apologies as she sat down timidly into the chair. However, her mouth got the best of her and she began to rapidly fire out an apology.

"Headmistress McGonagall, I am so, so sorry. I know you must be very disappointed in me for my behaviour. I assure you, I will not stray from my responsibilities as Head girl, however, if you find it fitting to strip me of my badge, then I will firmly respect your decision as Headmistress. Once again, I am so, so sorry and I will be on my best be-"

"Miss. Granger!" McGonagall snapped, and Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth before visibly relaxing her posture. "What in Merlin's name are you talking about?"

"I thought Madam Hooch told you about-" A sharp elbow in her shoulder made her stop midway through her sentence and she turned to Draco discreetly placed his hand back in his lap.

"What would Madam Hooch tell me about?" the Headmistress asked, very much confused at Hermione's outburst. Hermione almost let out a loud sigh in relief, Madam Hooch hadn't told McGonagall.

"About Hermione's interest in doing quidditch training," Draco said smoothly, covering up Hermione's fumble. "She would like to improve her abilities on a broomstick."

"Well," McGonagall began. "Very irrelevant to what I was about to say, but I respect your decision to begin this extra training. I will speak to Madam Hooch about your lessons. On another subject I need to talk to both of you." Draco and Hermione shared an uneasy glance. "Miss Granger, may I speak to Mr. Malfoy first?" Hermione nodded and stood up nervously at McGonagall's grim expression.

When the quiet click of the door closing announced Hermione's departure, McGonagall stood up from her chair across from Draco and instead sat to one adjacent to him. Draco gulped at McGonagall's face. He recognised her expression. It matched his mother's every time his father would be mad, or when she had informed him of the death of his first pet, an owl. It was a look of dread. A deliverer of bad news. After experiencing plenty of bad news in his lifetime, he knew with confidence that nothing good every followed this look. It almost made him sick, the overwhelming amount of pity.

"Draco," McGonagall said softly, in the tone of a someone attempting to ease the blow of a curse before firing. "Your mother…" He took a sharp intake of air at the mention of his mother. "…passed away. In the morning. The Healers attempted to Rennervate her, but-"

"BLOODY HELL!" Draco yelled, slamming a fist down onto her desk, hard. Angry tears began to stream down his pale cheeks.

"Draco," McGonagall said sharply, with a slight pleading undertone. "Let me continue." Draco took a deep exhale, wiped his eyes and collapsed back into his chair.

"She died of a heart attack." McGonagall said slowly, carefully watching Draco's reaction, but apart from trickles of tear trailing down his cheeks, his expression was unreadable. "High blood pressure triggered by her strong depression." **[A/N: Yes! You can die from sadness/'a broken heart'. I did research on it, although it is slightly Muggle-ish, but Wizards can get heart attacks too. They're still human. Just slightly, y'know, magical. Read the A/N at the end for more on this!]**

"Why wasn't she taking her potion?" Draco demanded, his hand tightening firmly around his wand, on the verge of snapping it in two.

"She was," McGonagall said. "As devastating it might be, emotions with always overpower magic. We can't fix everything in this world."

Draco stood up from his chair, knocking it backwards. "Enough with all this emotion crap," he said, slamming the door as he exited the office. He was in such a hurry to leave, he didn't notice that he had ran straight past Hermione, who was standing behind the door.

"Draco, Draco wait-" she firmly held onto his arm as he quickly strode past. "Where are you going? What happened?" As he turned around, she was shocked to face his tear-stricken face. She loosened her iron grip into a tender hand onto his shoulder. He froze at her touch, and she could see him building an emotional barrier around himself. As he always had. When she realised they were still standing in front of McGonagall's door, she clasped his hand and pulled him down the stairs, and up into the astronomy tower. They climbed the long, spiralling path up the tower in silence, hand-in-hand.

Once they were finally alone, Hermione spun around so she was face-to-face with Draco. Her chocolate eyes bore intensely in him, yet he turned away. Silent tears spilling out of his grey eyes.

"Draco…" she said gently, relaxing her grip on his hand. "What happened?" This question snapped Draco out of his miserable trance and his quiet tears turned into painful, chest-wracking sobs. His legs crumpled from beneath him, yet he didn't fall. A pair of arms caught him as his legs gave way in despair and he looked up into a pair of warm, brown eyes.

"Come here," Hermione said, pulling him upwards firmly and wrapping her arms around him. He sobbed into her shoulder, tears staining her robes. Between sobs, she began to make out words.

"She-She's gone, Hermione," Draco said, gripping the back of her robes tightly.

"Who?" Hermione said, confused. At this question Draco looked up and pulled back slightly.

"My mother," he said and Hermione gasped. She had a million questions she wanted to ask him, but she knew she had to be there for him so she kept her mouth shut as she enveloped him in her arms. She wasn't sure how long they stood there, Draco's sobs resounding the tower and Hermione rubbing his back comfortably.

"I'm leaving Hogwarts for a bit," Draco said finally, wiping his eyes, and Hermione nodded. "I need to plan her funeral."

Hermione's heart hurt for Draco. He hadn't even graduated, yet he was still planning his mother's funeral.

"How long will you be gone?" she asked.

"A month," Draco said quietly. "I'm going to need some time alone. Away from here." Hermione understood his need to leave, but his words broke her heart.

"Draco, I l-" she stopped midway. _Stop it Hermione!_ She told herself. _His mother just died. I can't tell him._ "I'll miss you. A lot."

"Me too, Hermione," he said and pulled her back into a tender embrace. "Me too."

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

"Tomorrow."

 _Tomorrow?_ Hermione thought. It was too soon.

"Can we skip lessons for the rest of the day?" she asked. "Spend the day together?"

"I wasn't planning going back to any lessons anyway," Draco said sourly, but nodded in response.

"Come with me," Hermione said, "To the lake." At Draco's questioning look, she continued speaking. "It's where I go where I want peace, or if I'm feeling down."

"The lake it is," he said, following Hermione down the spiralling staircase and out to the lake.

The sight of the lake was breathtaking. Crystal blue water stretched out towards towering mountains and the sun left a golden path straight down the centre. At the edges, a light, grey mist was present and in front of them were the very same wooden boats they had embarked on their first day at Hogwarts.

Hermione climbed into a boat, Draco close behind, and began to row them out towards the centre of the lake.

As they marvelled at the gorgeous scenery, Draco began to speak. "Thank you for this, Hermione," he said. "Thank you for being here for me. It means a lot."

"Always," Hermione said.

"Always a long time," Draco quipped and Hermione chuckled lightly.

"I'm willing to do that," she said and began to lean forward. "Draco, I-" She failed to finish her sentence as Draco closed the distance between them and kissed her. This kiss was different from the first. A sense of urgency was present as she wrapped her arms around his waist tightly. Even though she knew he had to go, it was if she was trying to convince him to stay.

"I'll miss you," Hermione said, pulling away from him. Her sad expression broke Draco's heart and he pulled her into his lap, resting his head on top of hers.

"I wish you could've met my mother," Draco said.

"Me too, Draco." She reached out for his hand and stroked his fingers affectionately.

They stayed out at the lake together until lunchtime where they returned back to land to share a picnic together under the shade of a tree. Hermione savoured every moment with Draco. She knew she wasn't going to see him until Christmas and her heart panged at this thought. She would miss him dearly, but she knew she had to stay strong for him. She felt selfish for not wanting him to leave when he had to prepare his own mother's funeral, so she kept her thoughts to herself.

That night, before they retreated back into their own rooms, Hermione knew she had to say goodbye before she slept because he would be leaving early in the morning. She had given him a tender kiss that ended far too quickly when he pulled away from her.

"I will miss you, Hermione Granger," he said. A month had never seemed like long to him, but it soon would feel like forever. One twelfth of a year, or 30 days, suddenly felt far too long to be absent.

"Me too, Draco," she said sadly before he gave her a hug and turned away.

When the door to his room had shut behind him, tears spilt from Hermione's eyes. He hadn't even left, yet she already missed him.

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter. I rushed it a tad towards the end so apologies if the ending isn't for you. Also on the note of heart break, I read an article on it because I wanted to be as accurate as possible. It is quite Muggle-ish to die of a heart attack, but yes, Wizards are humans. Just magical, I guess.**

 **Here are a few quotes from the article explaining "** **taktsubo cardiomyopathy" or "heart-break syndrome".**

 **"** **"What that does is do things like increase your heart rate and blood pressure, makes your heart work faster, makes your blood sticky, ruins your immune system," Dr Stamp said."**

 **"Dr Stamp said takotsubo is rare, usually affects post-menopausal women, and not everyone who suffers from it will die."**

 **""For example, in the last few years** **depression has come out as a standalone risk factor for heart disease** **," Dr Stamp said."**

 **Article link:**

 **. /news/2018-03-08/heartbreak-syndrome-and-takotsubo-are-real-for-heart-disease/952366**

 **Word Count: 2283.**


	10. The Baby Runespoor

**A/N: THANK YOU FOR 1000+ STORY VIEW! I love you all so much. I never thought my story would grow as much as it did, starting from less than 100 views, but thank you to all my readers., reviewers, favourite-ers and followers. I am eternally grateful for your support.**

 **Chapter. Ten. Is. Out! A lot of important things to the plot are mentioned in this story so be keen to read this! Also, I'd like to thank one of my reviewers** ** _1 peep 4 ever reading and such_** **for always reviewing! You really make my day. If you like my story, please leave a review. It makes me really happy to see them. Also, on another topic: I have started a new fic! It's called** **A New Beginning.** **It's had an overwhelmingly positive response so thank you for that! However, this means that I might not be able to update this fic now that I am working on two at a time, but I'm working hard and I'm keen to get on with it! So, thank you x**

The hours of Draco's absence soon turned into days, which in turn became weeks. She had never noticed how much of a presence he had in her day-to-day life, whether it was waking her up on days where she had overslept (not that it happened very often), or their playful banter in Potions when working together. It wasn't a desperate lust a crazy girlfriend would have, after all, they weren't even dating, but it was more of just missing his presence altogether.

As much as she tried to deny how much she missed him, it became quite obvious. Every time she would glance over to his empty chair in Potions, she would unknowingly sigh. Although she hardly noticed herself, Ginny certainly did.

"You miss him, don't you?" Ginny said after a very hectic Herbology lesson while they walked out of the greenhouse. Hermione paused, wiping the dirt off of her robes tediously which was stubbornly clinging to her wool cardigan.

" _Scourgify_ ," Hermione said confidently, pointing her wand at herself, effectively removing all traces of dirt. "Why would I miss him?"

Ginny rolled her eyes at her friend's attempt at subtlety. "Don't play dumb, Hermione," she said. Hermione shifted uncomfortably, adjusting her grip on _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. "I know you well enough to see that you miss him."

Hermione realised it now marked a bit over one month since Draco had departed Hogwarts. However, she wasn't surprised, Draco did have a knack for being late. "So what if I do?" Hermione said stubbornly, waving at Hagrid as she passed by his hut. She noticed a small figure standing next to the half-giant whom she quickly recognised as the timid first year she had met on her first day as Head girl, Iris Jung.

"Hang on," Hermione said to Ginny, pulling herself towards Hagrid's hut. "Iris!" she called, waving towards her. As she approached her, she realised Iris was wearing a green and silver scarf indicating that she had been sorted to Slytherin.

"Want to come in for a bit of tea and a rock cake?" Hagrid asked, Iris, standing behind him. Hagrid's rock cakes were infamous for being jaw-breaking, flavourless and all-around inedibility, however, she, Harry and Ron had been attempting to digest them since first-years.

"Sounds good," Hermione said, a smile plastered over her face, already planning on ways to improve the texture of the rock cakes. While Hagrid's kettle hissed loudly, she decided to use a softening charm to make the rock cakes slightly better. Although it wouldn't be fun to eat something rubbery and bouncy, Hermione was relieved that it wouldn't hold the potential risk of breaking a tooth (or two).

"So how's Hogwarts so far, Iris?" Hermione asked, returning her attention to the young Slytherin. At this question, her face immediately lit up in joy.

"I love it!" she said happily, her eyes widened happily. "Everything is so new and different. The magical world is so different from where I was raised." Hermione gave her a questioning look. "Muggle London," she added. "My mother was a witch and my dad's a Muggle. My mother died when I was very young. Dragon Pox. So my dad's raised me, I gave him quite a fright when my magic began to show." For someone so young, Iris was intelligent, like a Ravenclaw, but the air of confidence she possessed strongly represent her Slytherin qualities.

"Tea is ready," Hagrid said, haphazardly carrying a kettle filled with hot water and a tea bag towards the table. "Help yourselves to a bit of rock cake too." Hermione made eye contact with Iris and they both shared a look of dread. It didn't seem like this was her first time tasting Hagrid's rock cakes before.

"Thank you, Hagrid," Hermione said politely, reaching over to pour herself a cup of tea. "Would you like a cup too, Iris?"

"I see you two know each other!" Hagrid boomed happily, biting loudly into a rock cake. Hermione and Iris nodded in reply, sipping on their tea. "I met Iris when she stumbled along one during one of my lessons. A baby Runespoor-" Hermione cringed when she imagined Hagrid handling the three-headed snake in front of a class of terrified first years. "- went rogue, but luckily Iris was there." _How could a first-year control a category XXXX creature?_ Hermione thought. _How come Hagrid had a dangerous creature like that anywhere near a student?_

"She's a parseltongue," Hagrid said. "Just like Harry."

"Harry?" Iris interrupted excitedly. "As in Harry Potter?" While she began to gush about Harry, Hermione and Hagrid shared a worried glance. Being a parseltongue was never good news. It was the ability to talk to snakes that Salazar Slytherin had possessed himself.

"He's a friend of mine," Hermione said and Iris gasped in surprise.

"Is he the Head boy?" she asked.

"Draco Malfoy is the Head boy," Hermione replied, ignoring Hagrid's sudden stormy expression. "He's in Slytherin," she added, and Iris nodded knowingly.

"I have to go," Hermione said awkwardly, in a hurry to leave due to the sudden change in atmosphere in the hut. "I have a lesson soon."

"You should've told me!" Hagrid said, stuffing a few rock cakes into two bags for Hermione and Iris. "Here," he said, handing them the surprisingly heavy bags. "You two take these. I've baked too many." Hermione almost burst out in hysterics at the sight of Iris' nervous gulp before accepting the bag with a hesitant smile on her face.

"Thank you, Hagrid," Hermione said as she and Lyra begin to leave. "I'll see you soon." However, she had barely made it out of the door when she felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around.

"Be careful around Malfoy, Hermione," Hagrid said, a fiery expression on his normally smiling face. "His family is bad news. Lucius Malfoy has escaped from Azkaban." Hermione's eyes widened in shock.

"B-But, how?" Hermione stuttered. It was almost impossible for anyone to escape the high-level wizard prison, it almost never happened with the exception of a few occasions.

"He got help," Hagrid said. "I know of it. Only one person has escaped from Azkaban by themselves and that was Sirius. Unless Lucius Malfoy is secretly an Animagus, which I highly doubt, there is no way he could've gotten out of Azkaban without any help."

Hermione felt uneasy at the thought of this. She wondered if Draco knew anything about this, but she knew he was feeling down so she decided not to question him when he would return.

"Thanks for telling me this, Hagrid," Hermione said sincerely. "But I really have to go. I have Arithmancy soon." Although, she didn't even have Arithmancy. Professor Vector was unwell that day and had decided to cancel the lesson. Usually, a relief professor would take over the lesson but Professor Vector was a strict teacher and was very particular about what she taught.

Towards the end of the day, since Draco had left, it had become a habit of Hermione's to sit under a tree beside the lake (the very same she had sat under with Draco), bundled up in a blanket, holding a book in her hand. When he had first left, she went there as a source of distraction, but now that he would be arriving any day now, she was awaiting his arrival. For the past few days, she sat in the bitter cold waiting for his figure to emerge from the silver mist. Today, she was more hopeful than other days for his return, his absence was almost well over the one month mark, but to her dismay, he didn't return.

She heard hurried footsteps from behind her and Hermione whipped her head around to see McGonagall hurriedly walking to her. The normally so composed teacher had grey hairs flying out of her tight bun and her hat sat lopsided amongst her messy hair, but most of all her eyes looked haunted, wracked with worry. A look that Hermione hadn't witnessed since the horrible war.

"Miss. Granger," McGonagall said and took a moment to regain her breath. Hermione stood up from her comfortable position and her blanket fell to her feet. "I need you to come with me." Hermione began to bundle her blanket in her arms but stopped when she received an icy look from the headmistress. "Now," she added and Hermione quickly followed her back into the castle.

Hermione huffed as she ran up the winding stairs, somehow struggling to keep up with the elderly witch. McGonagall took a sharp turn into the Dungeons and stopped abruptly in front of a wall. Hermione's blood went cold. The sight in front of her struck her strongly of her first year. The red paint dripping off of the cobblestone wall, closely resembling blood, made Hermione sick.

" _The Chamber has been opened_ ," Hermione said, reading the words off of the wall. " _We have taken her_." She stepped closer to the wall and found a scarf nailed to the wall. "It's green and silver," Hermione said. "They've taken a Slytherin."

"Why would they take a Slytherin?" McGonagall asked, her face pale. "That's impossible!"

"Unless they want something of their's," Hagrid said, appearing from the other end of the corridor, Fluffy by his side. His face was contorted in an expression of fury and Hermione soon realised what he meant.

"Iris," Hermione said simply. "They've taken Iris." McGonagall looked at her questioningly.

"Why would they want Iris?"

"She's a parseltongue," Hermione said, connecting the puzzle pieces in her mind. "You need a parseltongue to open the Chamber of Secrets." McGonagall gasped. It was the second time the Chamber of Secrets had been opened at Hogwarts. Secretly built by Salazar Slytherin himself before he departed from Hogwarts, in the Chamber lied the King of Serpents, a category XXXXX creature, a Basilisk. Hermione began to panic at the thought of the Basilisk roaming around Hogwarts, the students as its victims, but she quickly realised something.

"B-But, the Basilisk," she began nervously. "It's dead. Harry killed it in our first year."

"Then the threat is-" McGonagall began before Hagrid quickly interjected.

"Well, um, you see, that," Hagrid stuttered. "I came here because I have to tell you something, Minvera." McGonagall raised an eyebrow questioningly and sighed.

"What have you done now, Rubeus?" she asked exasperatedly. Hagrid was known for the antics he got up to. Although he had good intentions, his actions usually ended up with a few dangerous creatures going loose.

"I ordered two Runespoor eggs for my class," he mumbled. "But I only received one. Someone else must've gotten their hands on the other egg."

"Rubeus," McGonagall said, her voice shaking. Hermione couldn't tell whether she sounded fearful or angry. "Do you mean to tell me that there is most likely a Runespoor wandering the halls of Hogwarts and a parseltongue Slytherin child has been kidnapped to do so?"

Hagrid coughed nervously. "Well, the Runespoor is a baby." Hermione sighed at his hopeless defence. "Mine wouldn't hurt a fly."

"What do you think will happen when the Runespoor grows up?" McGonagall asked, her voice clearly laced with anger. "So you're saying a category XXXX creature wouldn't hurt a fly? It has extremely venomous fangs!" Hagrid flinched and he looked defeated by the furious headmistress.

"I-I'll go alert the other professors," Hagrid said and McGonagall nodded.

"Miss. Granger," McGonagall said after Hagrid had hurried away. "Please send an owl to Mr. Malfoy. We need our Head boy back."

Desperate to avoid the wrath of McGonagall, Hermione scurried away to the Owlery and began to write a letter to Draco.

 _Draco,_

 _I hope you're well. I know the reason you have to be away from Hogwarts is a good one, but I need you to come back. Hogwarts needs you to come back. There's so much going on, far too much to write in just a letter, but to put it plainly; a parseltongue Slytherin in their first year is missing, the Chamber of Secrets is open and inside lies a baby Runespoor. For now. Please come back soon._

 _Love,_

 _Hermione._

It felt strange explaining what was happening so blatantly to Draco, but it had to be done. She placed the parchment into an envelope and sealed it with a wax stamp. Before tying it to an owl's leg, she planted a kiss on the envelope. She watched the brown barn owl become smaller and smaller as it travelled further away. Soon, enough it was only a speck amongst the sad, grey sky.

"Come back soon, Draco," Hermione whispered to the whistling wind that blew her brown curls away from her face. "I need you. I can't do this without you."

 **A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! Make sure to follow/favourite the story, and please, please, please leave a review! I don't want to be that author that will only update if you review, it's just that I love to see your review. Everytime I receive one, it really makes my day! So thank you to everyone who has already reviewed x It means a lot to me.**

 **Word Count: 2123 (sorry for the short-ish chapter, it just seemed like an appropriate place to end this chapter!)**


	11. Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom

**A/N: Chapter eleven is out! So, the chamber has been opened and Draco is finally returning to Hogwarts after leaving for a short while. I really don't know where I was going with this chapter but I'm still happy with how it turned out. Happy reading!**

It had been a little over a day since Hermione had owled Draco when she was called up to the Headmistress' office. She felt nervous climbing up the spiralling stone stairs, the sound of her footsteps echoing around her. The last time she had visited McGonagall, she had received news of Narcissa Malfoy's passing and Draco had departed Hogwarts, and the visit before that, she had received a horrible lecture about her mortifying fall in front of the whole school.

"Headmistress?" Hermione asked, lightly knocking the door to announce her arrival. She heard the squeaking of a chair being pushed and a voice from inside replied.

"You may enter, Miss Granger." Hermione was puzzled at the sound of the voice. It was smooth and clearly belonged to a male. However, she realised the air of confidence the voice carried could only belong to one person.

"Draco!" she cried, flying into the room to find Draco, leaning back into an armchair, arms crossed over his chest relaxedly while McGonagall sat in the chair across from him. It wasn't the reunion she quite expected, but nevertheless, she flung herself into his arms for a quick embrace. "Headmistress," Hermione said, only just realising McGonagall's stiff presence in the room and her address was replied with a curt nod.

"Good to see you too, Hermione," Draco said, a smile across his face. McGonagall cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy," she said. "I trust you two know why I called you into my office?" She raised an eyebrow and Hermione nodded. "Draco, we have reason to believe that your father, who recently escaped from Azkaban, is behind the missing Runespoor, abducted student and opening of the Chamber of Secrets." Draco scoffed.

"I'm not surprised," he muttered.

"We're going to send a team down into the Chamber of Secrets," McGonagall informed them. "However, there's only one problem." She paused. "We need a parseltongue in order to open the chamber." She gave Hermione a knowing look and she instantly knew who the Headmistress had in mind.

"Harry," Hermione stated.

"Sorry?" Draco said, straightening himself into an upright position.

"Harry's a parseltongue," Hermione said. "I will owl him, but I'm not sure if he can come over or not. He's doing Auror training at the moment."

"As you two are Head boy and girl, I will need you to take command over the students while I am absent," McGonagall said before Draco and Hermione's outburst.

"He's my father!" Draco fumed, suddenly slamming his fist onto the table and McGonagall flinched. "There's no way you're going into the chamber without me!" Normally, Hermione would've been appalled at the way Draco was speaking to a Professor, but she didn't take notice as she was equally as furious.

"I've been down into the chamber before and I helped Harry find it!" Hermione protested. "I refuse to sit by while everyone else goes." McGonagall sighed. She should've expected it. She didn't expect two of Hogwarts' brightest students to sit by while others put their lives in risk, or, in Draco's case, investigate one's criminal parent.

"I will talk to the Ministry," McGonagall said plainly. "But mark my words, if I hear that you two have been investigating down there, there will be consequences."

"Yes, miss," Hermione and Draco grumbled, shooting each other a knowing look. McGonagall surveyed them, noting their hesitation before agreeing. Reluctantly, she dismissed them.

"You two may leave now," she said. It wasn't the first time she had dealt with any of Hermione or her friends' shenanigans.

Draco grabbed Hermione's wrist and gently pulled her out of the office, closing the doors on his way out. When, he was sure they were out of earshot, he began to speak.

"We're going to investigate, aren't we?" he asked.

"I don't see why not," Hermione replied. "Apart from the _consequences_ McGonagall mentioned, there seems to be nothing stopping us." She laughed, but she was wracked with worry over Iris. Instantly, Draco seemed to notice her change in emotion.

"The girl that is missing," he began, slowly down his pace as he noticed her struggling to keep up with his long strides. "You know her, don't you? Iris Jung, I believe is her name." Hermione could only nod numbly, squeezing Draco's hand tightly. She had only known Iris for a few months, but she had already come to grow quite fond of the clever, young girl.

"Hey, Hermione, look at me," Draco said, spinning her around to face him. "It's going to be alright." He wrapped his arms over her shoulders and gave her a comforting hug. Hermione was tempted to question him, or to say something like 'how do you know?', but she accepted his comfort.

"Tonight, let's investigate," she finally said. "During our night patrol let's go down into Myrtle's bathroom and have a look for a clue or two." It felt weird to go exploring around Hogwarts and breaking rules without the rest of the Golden Trio, but Hermione was determined to find Iris.

"That's my Hermione." She blushed at the mention of her name and he leant in to give her a light peck on the cheek.

"That sounds like a plan," Draco agreed. "Meet you at night?" Hermione nodded and the two parted ways into their separate lessons.

* * *

Usually, Hermione adored Arithmancy with Professor Vector. It was her favourite subject of all, there was something about it; working with numerology and a more 'refined' branch of Divination. However, she found it difficult to concentrate to Professor Vector's lecture today knowing that an adventure with Draco awaited her at the end of the day.

"Hermione," snapped a firm, female voice from next to her. Hermione mumbled an unintelligible reply, while struggling to keep her eyes trained on the numbers the professor was drawing on the blackboard.

"Hermione," the voice repeat and Hermione replied with an offhand 'yep'. She looked back down on her parchment, copying down the diagram on the board.

"Ow!" she cried, when she felt a sharp pinch on her shoulder and turned around accusingly to face Ginny. "What was that for?"

"What's up with you today, Hermione?" Ginny asked, concerned for her friend's lack of attention in class. "You're here in class, but you're not really here." She gestured towards the blackboard and Hermione's work which was evidently not as thorough as usual.

Hermione sighed. "You have heard about the chamber, haven't you?" Ginny nodded.

"At least it's a Runespoor this time instead of a basilisk," she replied and shivered at the thought of the Chamber of Secrets being re-opened. "Why can't the damn thing just stay shut?" Ginny laughed at her joke, but Hermione knew she had a nagging sense of insecurity.

"Hey, Gin," she said. "Draco and I are going down to investigate tonight. It'll be fine." She had expected this news to calm down her friend, but instead Ginny stood up in the middle of class, furious.

"OH HELL NO!" she yelled suddenly, and Hermione recoiled.

"Miss Weasley!" cried Professor Vector, her attention turned on Ginny instead of the black board. Ginny flushed with embarrassment and muttered an apology as she sat back down in her seat.

"No way in hell are you going down there without me," she whispered angrily to Hermione, ignoring the questioning gazes of all their classmates. "I'm going down with you, Hermione Granger, whether you like it or not." Hermione was prepared to protest against Ginny, but saw the fiery look in her eyes. There was no way she was budging. Hermione cursed her attempt at comfort. Draco would be furious if he knew she had told Ginny.

"Fine," Hermione muttered, utterly defeated. "But not a word to anybody else!" Ginny smirked at her victory.

"Not a word," she answered confidently, shutting her Arithmancy book when Professor Vector announced the end of the lesson. "See you later, Hermione."

Hermione couldn't concentrate in the rest of her lessons. She felt eager to investigate and in contrast to doing that, sitting in a classroom felt dull. The lessons went by slower than usual due to her lack of enthusiasm, but, finally, it was time for her night patrol with Draco (and, unexpectedly, Ginny).

She had arranged to meet Draco in the Common Room of their dorm by ten o'clock sharp, but expected to only see him, she was taken aback at the sight of three people in the room. Draco was perched on the end of a couch, a surly expression on his face, while Hermione noticed Ginny and Blaise sitting on armchairs, faces eager for adventure.

"Hermione," Draco said stiffly, nodded in her direction when she entered in the room. "What's Zabini and Weasley doing here?" Blaise moaned at Draco's formal address of him.

"Come on, Draco!" he said, standing up from his armchair. "We're going to go investigating. How fun!" Draco groaned, placing his head in his arms, muttering a string of colourful curses.

"I might of let it slip," Ginny admitted sheepishly, standing up from her armchair. "He just kept bugging me on where I was going instead of patrolling with him. I tried lying but he sniffed it out in record time."

"Well, four's better than two, right, Draco?" Hermione said, trying to lighten the atmosphere, Draco gave a small grunt in reply and hopped off the couch.

"Let's go," he said. The unlikely group exited the Common Room, whispering amongst themselves.

"Where to first?" Ginny asked quietly, walking alongside Hermione.

"Myrtle's bathroom," she said. "If Lucius got into the Chamber, that's the only entrance he could go through."

"We could ask Myrtle if she saw him," Blaise added hopefully and they nodded in agreement.

They travelled across the school, walking quietly, but quickly, towards the second-floor girl's bathroom. The bathroom looked depressing as usual. Broken toilet doors hung on rusting hinges **l** and pools of murky water sat on the tiled floor. Even though it was hardly ever used, the bathroom had a disgusting stench and Blaise covered his mouth with his jacket sleeve.

"Gross…" he muttered, his voice muffled by his sleeve. "It smells like somebody died in here." He suddenly took a step back and Hermione followed his shock gaze to find Moaning Myrtle floating above them.

"That's because somebody did!" she cried, placing her hands on her hips. "How insensitive." Blaise rolled his eyes and apologised.

"Draco!" Myrtle suddenly said, zooming towards the platinum-blonde Head boy. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Draco gave her a questioning look.

"What?" he said, obviously confused with Myrtle's question.

"Don't you remember?" she asked, almost as equally baffled. "You came here a few days ago, went down that disgusting chamber to look for something. Never noticed you come out, though."

Hermione interjected. "Myrtle. You couldn't mean the Chamber of Secrets, could you?" Myrtle nodded her head.

"What other chamber would there be?" she asked, shrugging.

"You went down into the Chamber of Secrets without me, Draco?" Blaise asked accusingly, shooting daggers at his friend.

"And his lady friend," Myrtle said with a wink, and Hermione gave Draco a harsh stare.

"I wasn't here until today!" Draco cried furiously. "Myrtle. Tell me everything you saw the day I supposedly came to your bathroom."

"It was a lonely day, I had just been flushed down the toilet again by some annoying second-years," Myrtle began. "That's when you arrived." She air-quoted the word 'you', directed at Draco. "I'm not blind or anything, the person who entered looked exactly like you. There was also a girl." Hermione shot Draco a dark look. "A little one, a little toddler. Maybe about two years old?"

"What on Earth were you doing with a toddler, Draco?" Blaise asked and Myrtle cleared her throat. "Right, continue."

"The little baby made a weird hissing sound, like a snake," Myrtle continued and Hermione quickly realised she was talking about parseltongue. "Then a tunnel came out of nowhere and in you went, just like Harry and the blonde one with the dashing smile did a few years back."

"Blonde one with the dashing smile?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," Ginny replied with a giggle.

"Never saw you or that little girl come back up again," Myrtle said directed to Draco, finishing her explanation.

"Care to explain, Malfoy?" Ginny asked, crossing her arms over her chest and facing Draco.

"I only came back today!" he replied angrily. "There's no way that was me."

"Unless…" Blaise said, trailing off.

"Unless what?" Hermione asked, egging him to continue his statement.

"I was waiting for inspiration to strike halfway through the sentence," he said. "It didn't work." Hermione groaned in frustration. Draco kicked a stall door in anger and the door fell off its hinges, landing with a loud bang causing Blaise to wince at the sound. Hermione noticed that stall. It was the very same one she had spent hours crouching down in as a young girl, brewing the Polyjuice potion.

"The Polyjuice potion!" Hermione suddenly cried and her companions gave her a confused stare. "Draco, your father would most likely have a hair of yours, right?" Draco nodded. "Then he could've brewed the potion and gotten past Myrtle using it!"

"No wonder why Draco was acting so weird that day," Myrtle added thoughtfully, a light blush on her cheeks in embarrassment for not noticing his odd behaviour earlier.

"But how did he get out?" Ginny asked. "Myrtle said she hadn't noticed him leaving the chamber, and I highly doubt he would hang around for a few days."

"Maybe McGonagall would know," she asked. "We should go tell her what we've discovered." The group ran off, leaving Myrtle alone in their wake, to inform the Headmistress of their discoveries.

 **A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry if the plot feels a bit weird to you. I'm not really planning this story out, I'm just seeing where my creativity will get me. I'm trying to end this story in a few chapters because I really don't think I'm going to carry it all the way to the school year. Apologies for my absence on this story, I have started writing two other stories on a whim, but I am now focusing back on this story so stay tuned for more! Please favourite, follow and review this story! I appreciate all your support x**

 **Word Count: 2285 (not bad, not bad at all)**


	12. The Chamber of Secrets

**A/N: Chapter. Twelve. Is. Out. Hi, my lovelies! I cannot express how sorry I am for leaving you all waiting for so long. I have been insanely busy and insanely unmotivated. A long holiday from my studies will be arriving soon so hopefully I will be updating more often from then on. I'm not going to lie, this story definitely isn't how I envisioned it to be. It feels a bit rushed and I'm so sorry about that. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll see you next in chapter 13!**

The Chamber remained just as they had left it. Murky, cold and dimly lit by a few lone torches scattered across the stone walls. The remains of the basilisk lay abandoned on the floor, once a horrifying yet mighty creature, reduced to a mere pile of bones. Hermione held her wand out in front of her, she steeled herself for what was to come, yet her hand shook ever so discretely. Draco, noticing her nervousness, made eye contact with her. He gave her a look of comfort, something that she would never have expected to come from those cold grey eyes.

After they had told McGonagall about their discovery in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, the Headmistress was shocked. She had decided to enter the Chamber as soon as possible to avoid any further harm on anymore students. After all, Iris had already been taken.

The pair followed McGonagall, along with an armada of professors. The headmistress had been hesitant about letting any students come along. After the battle of Hogwarts, the apparition wards had fallen. Of course, before the school year began they had been put back up, but no one was able to get into the Chamber of Secrets to lay an apparition ward. It had almost been forgotten about after the fall of Voldemort.

McGonagall cursed herself for not dealing about this sooner. She knew that anyone could enter and leave the Chamber with ease, but she never thought that it would lead to this. She hated herself for overlooking the safety of the students, but was determined to bring this to an end.

"Do you see anything, Headmistress?" Hermione asked, her voice echoing across the dungeon walls. It was eerily silent with the exception the faint repetition of her question.

"No. Nothing…" McGonagall said, trailing off. Draco sighed, what if they were wrong? He knew that Iris was a close friend of Hermione's and he hated seeing her so worried.

"We'll find her, Hermione," he said, the flame of the torches flickering in his grey eyes. Hermione nodded as if she was reassuring herself.

"We will."

A sudden snap made the cohort jump. It sounded like the crack of a whip and Hermione knew it could only mean one thing.

Someone was here.

Her steps become more stealthy, her heart beating rapidly through her chest. Draco felt the same way, gripping his wand so tight his knuckles went white.

They rounded the corner and found themselves standing across from a figure.

Draco froze. The pale intruder pointed a wand towards them, his mouth curled in a sneer. His identical grey eyes were narrowed and his long, wispy hair trailed from behind his head. Dark circles sat underneath his eyes and his appearance was clearly unkempt.

"Father," Draco spoke, his feet rooted to the ground.

For a moment, Hermione almost couldn't believe that Lucius Malfoy stood in front of her. He always carried an air of superiority and donned a fitted, black velvet set of robes. He moved with poise, the image of the perfect pureblood wizard, but in front of her was a desperate escapee from Azkaban. Once a school governor, avid charity donator and a somewhat mastermind. For a brief moment, Hermione felt remorse for the pitiful sight in front of her, but quickly remembered the horrible things he had done as a Death Eater. A servant of Voldemort. An accomplice to the murder of Dumbledore. Hermione could only trail for so long before the Headmistress sprang into action upon Lucius.

" _Expelliarmus_!" cried McGonagall's voice as she flourished her wand from her robes and Lucius Malfoy's wand flew from his arm. Draco quickly stretched his arm out and clasped his hand around the wand before snapping it in half immediately. Lucius looked around in a hurry, as if to find an escape route. He paused to concentrate for a moment, as if he were about to apparate-

" _Incarcerous_!" yelled Draco and thick ropes coiled themselves tightly around his father's body. He strode forwards and roughly placed a foot on Lucius' chest.

"What are you doing here?" Draco demanded, and when he was met with silence his voice rose. "Speak!" He moved his foot upwards, closer to his father's neck and pressed down. McGonagall hurried forwards to stop him, as much as she despised Lucius Malfoy, he had to be taken in for official questioning.

"Draco!" she cried, pulling him back away from Lucius. "We can't kill him." Draco didn't struggle, but instead he moved back voluntarily.

"Not yet, anyways…" he muttered and Hermione shot him a look which he could only interpret as strong disapproval.

"What are you doing here, Lucius Malfoy?" McGonagall questioned, pointing her wand warningly to the ex-Death-Eater.

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied, but when he was met with confused gazes, he continued. "I'm here to avenge the Dark Lord. I'm going to eradicate who destroyed him." Draco could only think of one person, Harry Potter. The boy who had vanquished Voldemort.

"B-But, Harry's not here," Hermione stuttered, stunned by Lucius' answer. She didn't know his loyalty for Voldemort would carry beyond his death.

"No, not Potter, Mudblood," Lucius spat and Hermione recoiled at his language. It had been a long time since she had heard someone call her that.

"Don't speak to her that way!" Draco yelled, stepping forwards to stand protectively in front of Hermione. Lucius seemed taken aback by his son's outburst. He hadn't expected Muggle-hating Draco Malfoy to be defending a Muggle-born. His lips curled into a sneer as he continued.

"I can't lay a hand on Potter," Lucius said, his voice filled with venom. "Being an auror, he's constantly surrounded by Ministry officials, and Weasley… Who knows where he's gone? Travelling across the country, he's too hard to keep track of, but Hermione Granger…"

Hermione froze at the mention of her name and she reached inside her robes for her wand.

"You were a sitting duck in the school, Mudblood," he said, almost a snarl. "I thought it was going to be easy. Disguise myself, parade into the school, sneak into the Gryffindor common room and…" he paused. " _Avada Kedavra_." Hermione's blood ran cold at the mention of the killing spell. She shivered at the thought of Lucius Malfoy disguised amongst the students.

"… or so I thought," Lucius said. "The old entrances that I use to use to sneak in and out of the school were destroyed. Security had tightened. I found a way to get in, through the lake into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. They couldn't block that entrance, it was a sewage pipe, after all…" He trailed off, lost in thought for a moment before continuing.

"That's when I remembered. The Chamber of Secrets. It was the perfect place to hide. I brought in Delphini, the parseltongue child of the Dark Lord, she opened the Chamber and I entered," he said. "I looked for you, Hermione Granger. I took a polyjuice potion of my son and could traipse the corridors with ease. That's when I learnt of his departure, I used an invisibility charm instead. I was outside when I came across that little Slytherin parseltongue."

"Iris," Hermione said, almost a whisper.

"That was her name?" Lucius asked snidely. "I couldn't endanger Delphini any longer, so I took Iris, made her take a polyjuice potion of Delphini."

"Clever," McGonagall muttered and Lucius turned to her.

"But not clever enough," he said. "The kidnapping of Iris alerted you, the professors, and that ghost. Moaning Myrtle. I had to flush her down the toilet before I could open the Chamber, or wait 'til she was distracted. Brilliant, my plan as, yet so flawed."

"Time's up, Lucius Malfoy," boomed Kingsley, his deep voice resonating across the room. "Where is Iris Jung?" At the mention of Iris' name, Lucius let out a loud cackle. Draco felt sick at the resemblance his father's insanity was to Bellatrix. His loud laughs echoed across the dungeon, ringing in Hermione's ear.

"Where is she?" Hermione yelled, and Lucius fell silent.

"Oh? The girl…" he muttered, suddenly quiet.

"She's dead."

Hermione's breath hitched. Dead? How could she be dead? The last time she saw her she was happy, laughing and sneakily trying to avoid eating Hagrid's rock cakes. She had a wide smile across her face and was so full of life. The sudden thought of her being cold, dead was paralysing.

"LIAR!" Hermione cried, rushing forwards to place her wand at his neck. "SHE'S ALIVE!" Draco froze, torn between comforting her and beating Lucius to a pulp.

"I-I'm not lying," Lucius choked, his eyes glancing around frantically. "There was an accident, with the Runespoor. I tried getting Iris to send the Runespoor through the pipes, straight to your bathroom, but it attacked her."

"MURDERER!" Hermione yelled, swinging back a hand to hit him across his face. She felt her knuckles make contact with the side of his head and she bit her lip at the pain she felt. Draco pulled her back. Furious with his father, but hurt to see Hermione upset.

"Shhh…" he whispered in her ear as she flailed hysterically, a look of malice directed at Lucius. "Let's leave, come on…"

 _She's dead…. She's dead… And it's all because of you… If you weren't at Hogwarts, Lucius never would've come… She's dead… She's dead…_

The words repeated in her head. Over and over again. Hermione covered her ears with her palms squeezing tightly. She shook her head wildly.

All of a sudden, she dropped to the ground like a rag doll. Her head spun and everything went blurry.

Fuzzy images of Draco's worried face craned over her and Iris' smiling face wandered in and out of her hazy mind. She could hear yelling. The sound of a curse, and a bright flash of green light. She struggled to pull herself upwards, but she was in shock.

Then everything went dark.

* * *

Hermione blinked her eyes groggily. Her eyelids felt heavy and she felt utterly exhausted. She sat in the soft bed for a moment, recollecting her thoughts. Memories came back to her one by one.

Going into the Chamber. Finding Lucius Malfoy. Falling. The bright flash of green light. Draco's scared voice. Draco…

"Draco!" she suddenly cried out, shooting up. She felt a gentle hand push her back into the pillow and turned to her side to see Draco on a chair beside her.

"It's alright," he said soothingly, reaching for her hand. She scanned herself for injuries and seemed to be relatively unscathed and Draco, apart from a bandage stretching across one of his arms, was the same.

"What time is it?" Hermione asked, she felt disorientated. She remembered going into the Chamber yesterday, or was it the day before?

"Nine forty-three in the morning," Draco replied, leaning back into the chair and resting her injured arm on the arm rest comfortably. "We went into the Chamber yesterday."

"What happened after I collapsed?" Hermione asked sheepishly, embarrassed.

"I kind of lost it," Draco said, equally embarrassed, but Hermione felt warm at the thought of him being so protective. "I went to curse Lucius, but he got out the ropes and got me in my arm. That's when a Ministry official casted the killing spell…" Draco trailed off. He didn't feel remorse for his father's death, more so empty. On the contrary, he felt more upset over the death of Iris. He had only met her once, but she knew she was a good friend to Hermione and was only eleven years old. Eleven, and his father had killed her. Taken away her future.

"How are you doing?" he asked Hermione and she her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. He leant forwards to place an arm over her shoulders and let her place her head into the crook of his neck.

"I-If I hadn't come to Hogwarts this year, th-then she would still be alive. It's my fault…" she sobbed, her tears staining his shirt. Draco's heart panged. She carried the weight of Iris' death on her shoulder, blaming it on herself. He removed his arm from her and instead placed each hand on her cheeks.

"Hermione Jean Granger," he said fiercely. "You listen to me. It was not your fault. I repeat. It was not your fault. It was my bastard father that is responsible and it sure as hell wasn't you who killed her. I didn't know Iris that well, but I know for a fact that she wouldn't blame you, and neither should you." Hermione bit her lip, tears trailing down her face. Draco wiped a stray tear with his thumb and Hermione nodded, as if she were trying to convince herself.

"Thank you, Draco," she said tearfully.

"No," he muttered, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank _you_."

Hermione wasn't fully sure of why he thanked her, but she felt warm. He didn't take her troubles away, he fixed them, and in that moment, that was what he was doing.

 **A/N: End of chapter! I think this story will soon end in one to two more chapters and I will start hopefully updating my other ones. Once again, I'm sorry for being absent for so long.**

 **Word Count: 2160, it's a bit short, but I wanted to post this chapter ASAP. I've been keeping you all waiting for far too long!**


	13. Deep Purple Flowers

**A/N: Welcome to HTH chapter thirteen. I wrote this in about 1-2 days because I felt a sudden urge to write, I guess. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. 3 3 Please favourite, follow and** **review** **!**

Iris' funeral was a sombre occasion. Her parents said that it was what she would've wanted; for her resting place to be the place where she had made new friends, learnt magic and smiled.

The ceremony was held in the Great Hall. The usually warm, comforting atmosphere was replaced with a heavy sense of loss. For the Slytherins, they had lost a house member, for the first-years, they had lost a classmate, and for Hermione, she had lost a friend.

Dark, purple flowers were scattered across the walls. As she walked in, Hermione stepped forward towards one lone one. The deep purple petals met in the centre of the flower where there small, yellow and white flecks of colour. Hermione pinched a petal in between her fingers, searching her memory for the reason why she the flower seemed familiar. She had seen it in a book somewhere, she was sure of it.

"Hermione Granger?" A voice asked from behind her and Hermione turned around. There were two short adults standing in front of her. It wasn't the jet black hair or dark eyes that gave them away as Iris' parents, but the pure grief on their face. They had lost their little girl and it was evident what they were feeling.

"I'm so sorry," Hermione said. To anyone, it might've been that she was sympathetic for their lost, but it meant so much more.

"The Headmistress told us you knew Iris," they said and all Hermione could do was nod. When it became apparent that their conversation wasn't going to go anywhere, they bade farewell leaving Hermione at the entrances.

"I hope you like the irises," they said before leaving and Hermione teared up. That's what the purple flowers were. _Irises_.

Hermione traipsed among the aisles. Everything felt like a dream to her. Everyone around her was a blur of faces, a sea of sadness, and her legs felt heavy from fatigue. McGonagall had asked her to write a short, sweet eulogy for Iris. Hermione had declined, reasoning that she hadn't known Iris very well but the look in the little girl's parents' eyes convinced her otherwise. She knew she had to do this; for Iris, for her parents.

She had spent all night trying to think of something to write. For hours and hours, Hermione had dwelled over what to write. _How do you some up someone's life in a paragraph?_ she had thought. She had so many things to say, but she was instructed to keep her part short. After all, as much as she had enjoyed Iris' company, she played an insignificant role in her life compared to other figures.

There was another reason why she was especially upset. A month after Iris died, Hermione felt irritated that people could just go on with their lives; professors kept teaching and students kept learning. It felt as if she was the only one carrying the weight. Draco had been there for her. Through every nightmare where she had woken up, sobbing and frightened. She deeply appreciated his support but she kept thinking what he was to her.

With so many people leaving and re-entering her life, she couldn't just leave their relationship undefined. Maybe at the start, when it was light-hearted and casual, but that wasn't what she craved anymore.

The night before the funeral, she had confronted him. It may have been unfair to suddenly rain down such a big question on him, but she needed comfort, security.

 _"_ _Draco?" she asked quietly, slowly pushing his door open a fraction. Recently, he had been leaving his door slightly ajar. It made it easier for her to enter his room and seek comfort without awaking him; she could only wonder if he did it on purpose. Draco stirred at the sound of her voice._

 _"_ _Another nightmare?" he replied. They were an almost daily occurrence now. She shook her head and he tilted his head to the side, slightly puzzled._

 _"_ _What even are we?" Draco almost laughed at the absurdity of the question._

 _"_ _Humans?" he replied, with a hint of cheek and she rolled her eyes. "Wizards? Witches?"_

 _She sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. "I mean, together," she added. She cringed at how sappy her statement sounded. Draco was taken aback for a moment and ran his hand through his platinum blonde hair, which almost seemed to glow in the moonlight._

 _"_ _Classmates? Head Boy and Girl?" he responded. "Friends?"_

 _"_ _Draco… Friends don't kiss friends," she said, blushing. "Boyfriend and girlfriend, for example, may, though." She was surprised when at the mention of a relationship, Draco flushed scarlet before looking away. Did he really not want to be with her?_

 _"_ _I don't do relationships," he stated bluntly and Hermione recoiled._

 _"_ _How could you say that?" she asked quietly, her voice small, stunned with pain._

 _"_ _I'm sorry, Hermione," Draco said. Hermione wanted to scream at him. How could he say that he was simply sorry? Although, her head felt heavy from fatigue and all she could do was lumber sadly out of the room, her head held low._

* * *

Draco sat on the top of the Astronomy tower. It was Iris' funeral and he didn't wish to attend in order to avoid upsetting Hermione, he knew she was already sad as it was. Not only that, but the young girl had been killed by Lucius Malfoy. His father.

He felt sick to ever trust, love and live with someone like him. The thought of the blood of a murderer running through his veins threatened his breakfast to make a reappearance.

"What am I thinking?" Draco whispered to himself quietly, the gentle wind tousling his hair. "I'm not better myself." During his short-lived time as a Death Eater, Draco had cursed Katie Bell and unleashed hell on Hogwarts, and those sins were only the beginning.

Draco let out a sour chuckle. He felt relieved to have broken things off with Hermione, whatever their relationship was called. She was probably over him already. Hermione Jean Granger, teacher's pet, bookworm and war hero, dating Draco Abraxas Malfoy, former Death Eater, son of a murderer and practically a murderer himself? That could only happen in stories, cheesy romances, the typical bad-boy gone good.

"Draco."

At the mention of his name, Draco turned around to find the Headmistress standing behind him, at the top of the winding stairs.

"Headmistress," he addressed curtly before returning back to staring at the view overlook the lake.

"Aren't you supposed to be at Iris Jung's funeral paying your respects?" she asked.

"Aren't you?" Draco shot back lazily and McGonagall sighed. She stepped forward so she looked down upon Draco, her expression unreadable.

"I never approved for you as Head boy," she stated as a matter-of-factly.

"Thanks for the compliment, miss," Draco replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"…but Albus did," McGonagall added. "I despised the fact that he always tried to see the good in people." Draco swallowed, he had possibly expected a lecture, but this? He hadn't seen it coming. McGonagall wasn't the type for a heart-to-heart. "I never approved of you. The moment you stepped foot in Hogwarts, I recognised you straight away as the son of Lucius Malfoy."

"He's no father to me," Draco said, almost a growl.

"It wasn't just appearance-wise," McGonagall continued, as if Draco hadn't interrupted a moment ago. "It was the way you carried yourself, cool and aloof, and the way you acting, both in your prejudice against Muggle-borns and your spoilt attitude. I didn't hate you, but one definitely couldn't say that I liked you very much at all."

Draco wanted to interject with a smart comment, but he was curious to see where the Headmistress was going with her address so he stayed silent.

"I chose you as Head boy myself," she announced and Draco was taken aback, but he held his cool expression. "What I began saw during the war convinced me. I could've given it to Neville, who was another strong candidate, or any other person who had participated in the battle, but I chose you."

"Why?" Draco asked, almost a plead. "Why would you choose me?"

"I saw the way you acted during fifth and sixth-year, although the war hadn't begun, there was a battle occurring, inside you," she said. "You realized that Muggle-born Hermione Granger was smarter than you, defying all of what you had been taught as a child, and people who weren't as wealthy were you were certainly not inferior."

"I didn't learn- I haven't," Draco said. "I cursed Katie Bell, aided in the murder of Albus Dumbledore and said things I can't even begin to describe how hurtful they were."

"If you're referring to your-" she paused. "-history with Miss Granger, you were only a child raised on those ideals. Stop punishing yourself."

"I'm not a child anymore! I don't need your affirmations," Draco shouted.

"Then stop acting like one," McGonagall replied coldly before heading back down the stairs. Draco sat in a stunned silence after she had left. Her words ringing in his mind, and all of a sudden, he knew he had to talk to Hermione.

* * *

"I didn't know Iris for long, but she quickly grew to become one of my closest friends," Hermione said, her voice shaky. She had never had a problem speaking in front of a large audience, but standing in front of the funeral goers made her legs feel weak. "She was a burst of life and energy. Always happy, always looking forward to her next lesson." Hermione let out a light chuckle when she realised the resemblance to herself. "I know everyone will say this, but I miss her, greatly, and I vow from this day onwards to live a full and adventurous life, for her." She took a deep breath. "Thank you."

Hermione looked up and felt frozen in place. Down the aisle was Draco Malfoy standing there, a sheepish expression on his face with his hands placed in his black trousers. She hurried of stage for the next speaker to come up and she walked over to Draco hesitantly.

"Hermione, can you come with me for a moment?" he asked quietly and she nodded. As hesitant as she was to go with him, she knew what he had to say was import.

They weaved through the corridors silently, Draco leading with Hermione close behind. Before long, Hermione found herself sitting where it had all started. Their spot by the lake. The silence that hung above them was filled with questions and longing.

"I've made my decision," Draco said finally. Hermione quirked up the corner of an eyebrow, a trait she had picked up from him.

"Didn't you already make it last night?" Hermione asked sarcastically. "When you shut down my sort-of-not-really confession?" She cringed at her use of words. She couldn't think straight around him, her usually crystal-clear mind was a mismatch of thoughts and emotions.

"I'm going to leave," Draco said baldly and Hermione was stunned for a moment. He was leaving, again? "I'm going to visit the families that were affected by the war, the victims of the Death-Eaters. I want to make amends and the first step is understanding. I don't think I'm going to continue my education here, or anywhere for that matter."

"But what about your future? Your life here at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, but all she wanted to scream was 'what about me?'

"An eye for an eye," Draco quoted. "I really need to do this, not just for everyone else, but for me too."

"What brought all of this on?"

"Let's just say someone knocked some sense into me," Draco said with a sad smile. "I leave tonight. There's nothing left for me here anyways."

"Draco, I'm here," Hermione said softly and the impossible happened. A single tear fell out of one of Draco's grey eyes. He stepped forwards and enveloped her into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Hermione Jean Granger," he whispered into her ear. "For everything."

" _No, thank you._ "

 **A/N: THE STORY DOES NOT END HERE! I REPEAT. IT. DOES. NOT. END. HERE! I'm thinking to have one more final chapter to finish off this story. I really didn't execute this story the way I intended and it's definitely a piece of work, but I hope you are all having a great time reading it. I'm thinking of the ending to be a bit bittersweet, but pretty close to a happily ever after! See you in the next chapter! x**

 **Word Count: 2005 (sorry about the length, it just seemed like an appropriate place to end the chapter)**


	14. Epilogue

**A/N: BRB. Currently crying tears of joy and sadness that this story is finally over and also tears of annoyance of how horrible the epilogue turned out. Read the Author Note at the end of this chapter for my final goodbye! (*sigh* sounds dramatic, I know.**

 **(Thank you to a guest reviewer who pointed out something was very wrong with this chapter the first time I posted it. I honestly don't know what happened!)**

 _Seven Years Later_

"Addison! Slow down," Draco Malfoy, now at the ripe-old age of 26, held his adopted daughter's hand as they weaved through Platform 9 ¾ which was packed with families saying goodbye to their departing children.

"Daddy, the train's leaving soon! I can't be late on my first day of school." 11 year-old Addison, or Addy for short, was excited for her departure to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Upon a year into his travels beyond Hogwarts, Draco had stumbled upon an orphanage on the outskirts of a rural town. The moment he saw Addison, so young and vulnerable, he knew he had to adopt her. It was love at first sight in a way. Her wide turquoise eyes and light auburn hair just begged for him to adopt her. At the time, she was only four years old but she was so filled with wonder and curiosity, that is pained him to leave her there.

Leaving Hogwarts, he had never expected to become a father at the age of 20, but fate had decided otherwise. Initially, he had gone on a few blind dates that had all ended in disaster, but decided to prioritise being the best possible father he could.

"Don't worry, Addy," he said, chuckling. "We're not going to be late." Draco was sure of it. He had been accepted into the position as the new alchemy professor at Hogwarts during the summer. Addy squealed as she felt arms wrap around her from behind and turned around to face Blaise Zabini.

"Uncle Blaise!" she cried and threw her arms around his neck. By the sudden appearance of his best friend, Draco was taken aback for a moment.

"Blaise?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I wouldn't miss the farewell of my adorable little niece and my sub-par best friend for the world!" he cried, spinning Addy around. Draco rolled his eyes at his light-hearted dig. "Ready to be sorted into Slytherin and join the Quidditch team, my little Addy-kins?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Addy cried as she landed back on the ground after being released. The past year, Draco had decided that she was old enough to learn how to ride a broomstick and the two had spent all day long in the backyard.

The train honked loudly, announcing the boarding of all students and teachers.

"Bye, bye, uncle Blaise!" Addy said waving, as Draco pulled her away towards to carriages and Blaise waved back tearfully at the pair.

"We'll owl you!" Draco said over his shoulder.

"You better, Malfoy!" Blaise yelled back as he watched them disappear amongst the other families. "Merlin, I'm going to miss those two…" he muttered to himself.

Draco and Addison rushed towards the entrance into the train. Despite all his big talk about not coming late, Draco had almost missed the train and Addy almost seemed to read his mind.

"Daddy… You said we weren't going to come late!" she said, pouting and Draco shushed her.

"Nonsense, we came just on time," he said, shrugging. "Do you want to go find a place to sit? Talk to some other kids, make friends." Addy paled at the mention of leaving her father. For most of her childhood, it had been just her, Draco and occasionally some of his other friends, Blaise included. She hadn't really had the chance to talk to other people her age.

"Addy, you're 11 years old now," he said firmly, but lovingly. "It's time to go talk to other kids." As nervous as she was, her father's reassurance helped her and she nodded before headed off to find a spot to sit with the other

He couldn't tell her, but Draco was nervous to go back to Hogwarts himself. Even years later, he remembered all his experiences there as if they were yesterday. Getting sorted into Slytherin, playing Quidditch, brewing potions. Well, that was before things went sour.

He headed up to the teacher's carriage. The old Head boy and girl carriage had been transformed into the newly furnished teacher's section, and coming back brought memories. It was the spot where Hermione had found him, clearly shocked with the prospect that they would be working together for the whole year, and he was too. Hermione Granger…. He would say it had been a while since he had last thought of her, but that would be a lie. After he left, all he wanted to do was run back to her, but he didn't want to disappoint her again. Right now, she would almost be 27 or 28. Naturally, Draco had assumed that she had already settled down with some handsome bloke, maybe had a kid or two.

Draco stopped in front of the teacher's carriage. Straight off the bat, he could recognise Neville Longbottom, the new Herbology teacher, he could only guess. He surveyed the rest of the teachers, but he couldn't recognise any. Within the years since he had left Hogwarts, the staffing seemed to have dramatically changed, only Minerva McGonagall left as Headmistress, even in her 80s.

"Longbottom, it's been a while," Draco said and Neville seemed taken aback. Sure, Draco had gained a slight tan to his ghostly skin from his travels and his once awfully gelled back hair was now slightly tousled, but he hadn't changed much.

"Draco?" Neville asked, at the same time as a female voice.

Draco turned around to find the source of another voice and there sat a young woman with perfect chocolate-brown ringlets framing her spotless face. She wore surprisingly Muggle-ish clothing, a relaxed white, button-up shirt that was tucked into a skirt that rested just above her knees.

"Hermione?" Draco asked and the two stared at each other in stunned silence.

The Hermione he saw in front of him was a ghost of the one he had left all these years ago. She had abandoned her bushy locks for silky, brown curls that almost looked too perfect. Her style was more feminine. The only skirt she wore back then was her school skirt, and even that hung just at knee-level, but her button-up shirt, which was un-buttoned a bit low than she usually dared, made Draco look twice before calling her name. It had been a long time since they had last seen each other, let alone spoken. Her voice brought back memories of their rendezvous in the broomstick cupboard and their tearful goodbyes.

It had been years since Hermione had last saw Draco. She hadn't expected him to change so much, but she almost didn't recognise him. He has only a blurry reflection of the boy she had met at Hogwarts all these years ago. He hadn't changed just appearance-wise, his travels seemed to have shaped him into a new person. She could tell just from a glance.

"It's been a while, eh?" Draco asked, nervously placing his hands in his pockets. He had expected to meet Hermione again sometime, but certainly not as a fellow teacher in Hogwarts.

Hermione's eyes felt watery and she urged herself not to cry.

"What are you doing, Draco?" she asked. "Planning to leave again?" She felt immature as the question she had dared to ask hung over their heads. She felt guilty when she noticed he shifted in positions sadly.

"That was long ago, Hermione…" he trailed off. "I had to do it. I'm sorry that it hurt you in the process."

Hermione wanted to yell at him, or burst into tears, but she maintained some of her dignity and softened her expression. To say that his departure didn't hurt her, would be a lie. He had left her when she was already broken, the weight of Iris' death hanging off of her. She needed him to lean on then, but even now she couldn't convey what she felt through words. Instead, she decided to remain civilised and passive.

"What are you teacher here at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked as he sat across from her in the carriage.

"NEWT-level alchemy," Draco replied smoothly. "You?" It touched Hermione that he chose to become an alchemy teacher. She had discovered his passion for it in their seventh year and was happy that he chose to pursue his interests.

"Transfiguration," Hermione said, breathlessly, she was still stunned by the fact that she had reunited with him again. She felt unsure with how to act around him. "What brings you to Hogwarts? I'm sure you could've gotten a teacher role at any other school."

"The nostalgia or memories, maybe," Draco offered. "I mostly wanted to be close to my daughter, though." _His daughter_ , Hermione thought. _You have to be 11 to Hogwarts so that means he would've been a father at the age of 15 or 16, before he even left Hogwarts, but how?_ Draco laughed as he saw her bite her lip as she processed this news through her head.

"I know what you're thinking," he said laughing. "Addison's adopted." Hermione blushed. She hadn't realised she had been _that_ obvious as to what she was thinking about. She felt stunned by his decision to become a father so young.

"What made you want to adopt so young, Draco?" she asked, genuinely curious about his intentions.

"It was in the midst of my travels when I came across an orphanage," he said. "All my life I have felt powerless to make a difference in the areas that matter most. All my decisions have been under the jurisdiction or scrutiny of someone else. I know I needed to do something for me, something for the world, so I chose to adopt Addy. Not only for me, but for her. How could I leave a little girl so vulnerable in such an environment?" He sat still for a moment. "All the people who worked at the orphanage were very kind, I might add, but in a place with so many children, she didn't feel special, wanted or important, and I wanted to give her that."

Hermione felt warm at his declaration. She thought he had matured so much after the war, but now, speaking to him again, it only confirmed the fact that he had learnt so much.

"What was Addison doing in the orphanage?" Hermione asked.

"She's a Muggle-born witch," he said. "When her parents discovered she could do magic, they cast her out. Shunned her for her amazing abilities." Hermione let out a small gasp. She had been fortunate enough to have amazing, supportive parents when her Hogwarts letter had first arrived.

"Hermione…" Draco suddenly said, taking Hermione by surprise. "I know I don't deserve this, but could we start again? I've changed, and for the better."

"Draco… you were perfect before," Hermione said, her heart beating rapidly. She placed his hand in his and all the thoughts that were rushing through his head before suddenly seemed to come to a stop. She stared into his silver eyes with warmth, she hadn't realised how much she had missed him over these years.

As they both spent the train ride catching up on what they had both missed in each other's lives, they could only wonder if this was fate.

 **A/N: Waaaaaah! It's over. It's finally over. My first fanfiction Head to Head is over! I can't wrap my head around it. Also, yes this story was horribly rushed and the character development was practically non-existent, but I am still elated with how this turned out. I had started writing another epilogue for this with more of a cliche, happy-ending but I chose not to do it, but I'll still tell you what it was going to be about. It was just a classic, Deathly Hallows epilogue-esque ending with Hermione and Draco with three children. Iris; 11, Naomi; 9 and Scorpius; 7. This was a really cute ending, but it jsut didn't seem to fit right with Draco being a bit of a jerk and constantly leaving (whoops!)/**

 **Thank you all for the love, support and reviews + everyone who favourited followed! I love you all and appreciate your support for this story. Thank you, thank you, thank you! 3**

 **is butter a carb x (I can't take my username seriously haha)**


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